Insider's Guide
The last thing Jeff Danz thought was a good idea when he opened Zandbroz Variety on Phillips Avenue 36 years ago was asking customers to pay for parking to shop at his store.
“I was ready to campaign for the removal of parking meters,” he said. “Back then, we heard a lot of complaints about parking from customers — now, we rarely do. I think the difference is downtown has evolved into a place they want to be.”
But the success of downtown also means more people are drawn there – to live, work, shop, dine and be entertained. Combine the increase in residents, workers and visitors with human nature “to seek the most convenient and easy way to do anything” and it’s not surprising what Danz now sees out his store window when parking is free.
“Lots of people work downtown, and they will park in the most convenient place, making the space unavailable for the day,” he said, adding that after 5 p.m. is when he sees the greatest demand for parking downtown because spaces aren’t forced to turn over through parking enforcement.
His experience meant “it didn’t take long for me to realize that without meters, there would be no available parking,” he said. “Many of us have been asking to extend the hours to keep the cost per hour from escalating, as well as increasing turnover and availability.”
Downtown Sioux Falls Inc., on behalf of its membership, led the way in recent weeks in supporting several city-related changes to parking. Rates now will be enforced from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday as well as Monday through Friday, and a new text-to-pay system will make it convenient for customers to pay and monitor their space to avoid fines.
“As these changes approached, DTSF made it a priority to reconnect with as many affected business owners as possible to ensure the enhancements were still aligned with their needs,” said Brandon Hanson, CEO of Downtown Sioux Falls Inc.
“In those conversations, we heard consistent themes: Business owners want the most convenient street spaces reserved for paying customers, current parking conditions are negatively impacting business, and the issue of ‘cruising ’— circling the block searching for parking — continues to be a barrier. Some even shared that an open spot in front of their store was the reason a customer decided to walk in. Others expressed that this change has been a long time coming, and it’s encouraging to finally see movement on something that’s been discussed for years.”
There’s significant research on the topic too. According to the International Downtown Association, an effectively managed parking system should turn over on-street spaces roughly five to seven times daily.
“In an unmanaged or improperly managed system, by comparison, on-street spaces turn over less than twice a day,” the organization said in a report. “The difference can aggregate to thousands of retail customers per day in a downtown retail area.”
In downtown Sioux Falls, it’s not uncommon to see people pay for one hour at 4 p.m. and then leave a vehicle there all night, overnight or even through a weekend, multiple downtown business owners said.
“People park and plant,” said Greg Koch, who owns 605 Running Co. and whose family owns The Cookie Jar Eatery.
“For a long time, people have wondered why some businesses don’t stay open later, and it’s because once parking is all free at the meters, people claim spots on Phillips on the evenings and weekends and retail business suffers. Your foot traffic disappears, and people who might pop in and out to grab an essential item or pick up a carryout order are not able to get there.”
“Expanding the hours creates more turnover and availability of prime parking spots,” Danz said. “I’ve been advocating for these changes for many years and am pleased to see they are finally being implemented.”
As downtown becomes more of a destination, while parking close to your destination always is a plus, it’s also “not as critical as it once was,” he added. “With the lots and ramps, you can park within a block or two of anywhere downtown. SculptureWalk, the streetscape and many restored historic building have made walking downtown a pleasant experience.”
Parking will be free after 5 p.m. weekdays and all day Saturday and Sunday in ramps throughout downtown, including those open to the public at The Steel District and Cherapa Place. There also are a number of surface parking lots without meters that can be used for free.
David Doxtad, president of ISG, chairs the DTSF Development Council and decided to get a first-hand look at what it’s like to use the ramps.
“My wife and I come down regularly for dinner, and I said, ‘For a whole year whenever we come down, we’re only going to park in a ramp,’” he said. “At first, she wasn’t sure about it, but I said, ‘You’re going to be surprised.’ We got through six months and she looked and me and said, ‘We’re literally the only people parking in these massive ramps.’ There are all these spaces available, and they’re so close, and they’re covered. It’s actually a better stall.”
In talking with businesses, “they want the turnover too,” he said.
“They want someone to come into the business or businesses and keep moving along and open up that spot for others, which is great. I’ve had a couple different conversations in which restaurants have pushed back, but it’s really something that should benefit them by creating turnover. Most people don’t spend longer than two hours at an establishment, and if you are going to make a night of it, there’s still so many options for free parking nearby.”
There are at least 4,000 spaces available in public or city-owned downtown ramps, plus additional surface lots that bring the total closer to 12,000 when including available private ramps and surface lots, according to DTSF.
“There’s tons of excellent parking downtown. It’s a huge myth that there’s not, especially in comparison to other cities,” Koch said. “If you park at Sam’s Club or Walmart or Costco, you’re likely going to do the same amount of walking as you will from a free parking space downtown to wherever you’re going.”
Doxtad’s firm, which works in many regional communities, has seen similar approaches be successful.
“Everybody looks at it like restricting parking is going to limit people downtown, and that is just not what we see,” he said. “Once you restrict it in your highest-need times, it’s actually very well received once people get used to it.”
For those who are fearful of walking to a ramp or parking lot, Downtown Sioux Falls Inc.’s ambassador program offers to walk with anyone for free. It’s staffed from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily — and DTSF is still hiring for the program, so click here to apply.
“The more people who use the ramps, the busier they get and the more safe it is because there are more people around,” Hanson added.
DTSF has spent years building consensus to advocate for extended parking enforcement, and that has been especially true in recent months.
Input has involved everything from surveys online to working through multiple advisory boards, the retail roundtable and one-on-one outreach to businesses. The issue also is included in the Horizon 2035 downtown master plan.
The whole idea “is to produce turnover at the curb, which ultimately produces more foot traffic and more sales,” Hanson said. “It’s a very business-friendly approach to actively manage parking.”
