Arena Parking Challenge

[kimballcat]

out of guaranteed frustration, i would avoid anything in the loop (especially the H&R block garage). on-street parking in the crossroads is your best bet for a quick getaway.

This brings up a question I have always wondered.  When do you have to feed the meters for the street parking?  Are they free after 5 and on the weekends?  Can you park in the Star lots in the evening or weekends?  I'm always cautious to park down there but usually end up on the street down there.  I'm usually nervous I'll either have a bunch of tickets or have my car towed but have been fine up to this point.  I guess I'm curious on what the actual policies are.

[WSPanic]

I'm pretty sure you don't have to feed meters after five/on the weekends unless otherwise posted (which I've never seen done).

And a good rule of thumb downtown - don't EVER park in a Star lot. They will tow you.

[scooterj]

I think it's actually 6:00 but I rarely see parking patrol after 5:00.  And yes, street parking is free all day on the weekends.

[Beermo]

i have never seen the kc parking patrol after 5pm. maybe you have.

the fun will be watching all the tow truck sharks circling the area looking for cars parked in front of hydrants and in no parking zones. i bet they already have money on who will get the most cars towed.

i will be working saturday nite and we don't know if we will be able to park in our own lots that we pay to park in.

if you're up by the new star building come peek in the north end and watch us make papers if you got the time. we'll be running til 3 am.

[KCBoom]

I tried to park in the new P&L garage directly across from the Sprint Center this morning, but they wouldn't let me park there saying it was for H&R Block employees only.  What gives?  Any word on when the general public will be allowed to park there?

Frankly, I didn't care.  I just parked in the Crossroads around 17th & Walnut.

[dangerboy]

I tried to park in the new P&L garage directly across from the Sprint Center this morning, but they wouldn't let me park there saying it was for H&R Block employees only.  What gives?  Any word on when the general public will be allowed to park there?

Probably after 5:00 p.m., similar to other garages that are open to the public after business hours.

[AllThingsKC]

For what it's worth -

I saw last night that just about all parking areas/garages around the Sprint Center were letting people park for $5.  Plus, there was street parking.

[LenexatoKCMO]

Just get a place DT - it eliminates all of the "challenge". 

[dangerboy]

I saw last night that just about all parking areas/garages around the Sprint Center were letting people park for $5.  Plus, there was street parking.

But there was no event.  They are estimating that for big events, parking will range for $10 for city garages to $20 for private garages.

[Burton]

Took me 14 minutes from my loft at 8th & Washington.

[Beltonhawk]

20 minutes from work at 19th and Wyandotte.

[ComandanteCero]

any bets on when the first letter to the Star complaining about parking will be published? 

not quite published, but in the comments section for today's article:

My 9 year old and I attended the ribbon cutting and he was thrilled to say the least. Garth was definitely an attraction and I'm excited for the "new" downtown. I have to complain though, I parked three blocks away and received a parking ticket! Let alone the fact that I had a half hour left according to the ticket time, but I was parked on Grand...shame on the City for ticketing, when we live North of the River and normally would have NOT shown up except for the fact that I wanted my son to catch a glimpse of Garth and the extra-ordinary person he is. I mean, when in the past can you think of anyone going out of their way to perform 9 SHOWS, one after the other?

I don't see ANY other entertainer looking out for the average working person and giving EVERYONE an equal opportunity to purchase a ticket WITHOUT being gouged by a scalper.

Good luck DOWNTOWN, THANK YOU GARTH BROOKS and shame on you KCMO PD!!!

[kuwolde]

I'm looking at the parking aspect from a different angle.  The garage at 10th & Wyandotte that I park my car in every evening is one of the outlying garages that the city has recommended for use during events.  There are a lot of spaces so I don't think it will be a problem but I'm interested to see how things are affected this coming Saturday.

[scooterj]

While I don't think parking is going to be a major issue once people find the garages, one thing that's already proving to be a major issue is the construction bottlenecks on 12th street and on Main due to lane closures.    During the lunch hour yesterday and then again around 6:00 these streets experienced true gridlock, with intersections completely blocked by idiots who enter them when there is no place to go and then no one could move on either street during any of the green cycles.  I saw this happening at 12th & Main, 13th & Main, 14th & Main, and 13th & Walnut.

[QueSi2Opie]

While I don't think parking is going to be a major issue once people find the garages, one thing that's already proving to be a major issue is the construction bottlenecks on 12th street and on Main due to lane closures.    During the lunch hour yesterday and then again around 6:00 these streets experienced true gridlock, with intersections completely blocked by idiots who enter them when there is no place to go and then no one could move on either street during any of the green cycles.  I saw this happening at 12th & Main, 13th & Main, 14th & Main, and 13th & Walnut.

I'm hoping that the city is working overtime to have these street construction issues resolved and complete by late Saturday morning.

[lock+load]

It took us 8:45 to walk from 10th & Baltimore to the arena.

[KCMax]

On 810, Danny Clinkscale just had a small rant on people complaining about parking in SC, saying that KC needs to grow up and learn how to park in a big city.

The funny thing though is he suggested people park at the Plaza and take a cab to SC if they didn't want to deal with finding a spot (as if its easier to find a parking spot on the Plaza on a weekend night than downtown).

Hey, there's a bus that runs between the two sites too for a fraction of the cost!

[KCKev]

So where is the FREE parking?

[TheBigChuckbowski]

So where is the FREE parking?

River Market, Crossroads, Crown Center.

[anniewarbucks]

My sentements exactly KCKev.