In order to improve parking in the downtown area, the City of Cedar Falls conducted a parking study in February 2019. This study included a recommendation plan. The ordinances were approved on June 17, 2019, by the Cedar Falls City Council. The City then broke down the recommendations into two phases of implementation.
Phase 1 is near completion. The objectives of this phase included new downtown parking choices, overnight parking on 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Streets, and updated enforcement hours.
To meet the goals of Phase 1, the City has added 31 free on-street parking spaces. Free 24-hour parking spaces have been added to the north side of 2nd Street between Franklin Street and Clay Street, and on the south side of 2nd Street between Clay Street and Washington Street.
Free 3-hour parking spaces have also been added to the west side of State Street between 2nd and 4th Street. A 15-minute pick-up/drop-off space was added as well.
To help provide more efficient enforcement, the City has hired and trained two new part-time parking attendants. Enforcement hours have also been updated to 9 am - 8 pm, Monday through Saturday. These new parking enforcement hours will begin Tuesday, September 3, 2019.
In addition to the new parking options available, Cedar Falls Mayor Jim Brown also partnered with Viking Pump, Inc. to allow public use of their lot after business hours. The lot is located at the corner of East 4th and State Street and provides 69 additional spaces. Visitors and employees in the downtown area can now use the lot from 5:15 pm to 5:00 am, Monday through Friday, and all day Saturday and Sunday.
Phase 2 is planned for later this fall and will include paid off-street public parking lots and new technology of a mobile pay application and pay stations. There will still continue to be free on-street parking in the downtown area.
To stay updated on parking in Cedar Falls, please visit www.cedarfalls.com/parking or follow the City of Cedar Falls on Facebook and Twitter @citycf.