Aug. 9, 2023

Downtown Sioux Falls will start designating certain areas as parking “express zones” this week.

The 15-minute express zones will be positioned adjacent to Phillips Avenue on 10th, 11th and 12th streets. The zones replace a combination of commercial load zones, taxi zones, former 20-minute carryout spaces and meters.

Express zones can be used by anyone for deliveries, pickup, loading, unloading and ride-sharing services without the need for commercial signage or plates.

“We’re consistently looking for ways to continue to support our businesses in our downtown and to better utilize our shared-use spaces,” said Matt Nelson, the city’s public parking facilities manager.

Unless users are actively unloading or loading freight, when their vehicle is parked in an express parking zone, they should use their flashing lights and limit their stay to 15 minutes. Approximately 20 spaces will be dedicated to the express zones in seven locations near intersections on Phillips Avenue.

The new designation will help ease congestion that occurs downtown, especially on weekends when ride-sharing services can clog streets and take up parking, said Joe Batcheller, president of Downtown Sioux Falls Inc.

“It ensures the prime parking on Phillips Avenue will be used to its fullest potential,” he said. “This isn’t just a parking issue. This is an economic development issue.”

The 30 spaces the city quickly designated in 2020 during the pandemic to offer 20-minute carryout parking downtown also are going back to normal metered spaces or becoming part of the express zones.

With the changes, Phillips Avenue will pick up a handful of additional metered spaces.

Parking use is back to pre-pandemic levels, Nelson said, adding the carryout spaces “have run their course.”

If you’re parking for more than 15 minutes in the new express zones, you could be cited.

“We’re having more and more people use this urban environment, so it’s critical to be on top of how we manage what happens at the curb,” Batcheller said. “This kind of collaboration and innovation is really important to help the success of downtown.”