Parking analysis shows plenty of capacity downtown — for now

Downtown Sioux Falls has plenty of parking – at least for now.

That’s the conclusion of city officials who track the public parking system and make recommendations on where and when to add more capacity.

“We’re able to accommodate development while also accommodating current public parking tenants,” urban planner Dustin Powers said this week in updating the City Council on the state of the parking system.

The pandemic threw a proverbial curveball at downtown’s parking system last year, in some instances dropping occupancy to 10 percent or 15 percent of typical use.

At one point, the ramp that supports the Washington Pavilion, which typically brings in $5,000 in revenue each month, had dropped to $250 or $300, public parking manager Matt Nelson said.

“That’s how drastic the change was, so it was pretty tough,” he said.

But normalcy appears to be returning, back up to 85 percent of metered parking’s typical revenue. The Pavilion ramp is 200 percent better than this time last year and 30 percent better than pre-COVID usage.

Overall, downtown experienced a 12 percent drop in leased parking customers, primarily as businesses opted to work remote. That’s expected to bounce back too.

“We’re hearing June, July,” Nelson said in terms of businesses needing spots back.

While some are planning to work hybrid in-person and remote schedules, it’s still a better value to do a monthly lease for parking compared with paying for two or three days, he said.

Seventy-eight percent of downtown parking is found in ramps, and 22 percent is surface lots.

“Our goal is to create density and get more ramps than lots,” Nelson said. “They’re a more efficient use of space, and we want to create an urban environment in our downtown.”

The city is sitting at 64 percent occupancy in its leased parking, which is a 25-year low, driven by the addition of more parking in the form of the new ramp along 10th Street east of Phillips Avenue as well as the drop in leasing because of the pandemic.

If typical projections hold, that’s about a seven- or eight-year supply, keeping in mind that private developments also will bring their own parking.

“We know we have a pretty good supply right now,” Nelson said.

In recent years, nearly 200 on-street parking spaces also have been added, often by turning parallel parking into angled parking.

The city could be bringing forward plans to redevelop surface lots at 400 S. First Ave. and 301 N. Main Ave.

Those spaces can be absorbed into nearby public parking, Powers and Nelson said.

“We wanted to see a higher and better use,” Powers said. “When we talk about these surface lots … both public and private, they really create some barriers to pedestrian activity. Redevelopment will encourage more of that activity.”

While proposals from developers have been submitted, they’re still being analyzed. Any redevelopment would require City Council approval.