The Facts about Parking for Tom Lee Park

With bits of misinformation pushing into social media and beyond, there may be some confusion about important aspects of a major coming attraction for Memphis. (Those with long memories may remember similar rumors being spread on FedEx Forum while it was being built…)

Here are the facts for those who may wonder, “Hey, what’s up on parking for Tom Lee Park?”

Assertion:
Parking for Tom Lee Park has been arbitrarily reduced by two-thirds.

Fact:
No. The plan for Tom Lee Park originally included 130 parking spaces on both sides of Riverside Drive when it was anticipated to be a two-lane street. This was reflected on the model of the park which has been on display at Beale Street Landing for two years. However, when Memphis in May, supported by Downtown Neighborhood Association, said it required four lanes to produce its festival, the plan, by necessity, eliminated the planned parking lanes in order to provide four travel lanes, reducing the number of spaces to 68, all on the west side of the street.

Assertion:
The changes to parking were kept from the public.

Fact:
The parking on Riverside Drive has been reported by the news media for many months and was reflected in several public design updates conducted on Zoom over the past 15 months. Invitations were emailed to neighborhood associations for each presentation and public input session.

Assertion:
People won’t visit the riverfront without more street parking.

Fact:
People park and walk to the riverfront all day long, even with no parking along the riverfront. There will be 68 parking spaces on Riverside Drive and we’ll work with the City to ensure that those spaces turn over throughout the day. In addition, within two blocks of Tom Lee Park, there are more than 2,000 spaces in garages and thousands more in surface lots and on-street parking. The emphasis on walkability is in keeping with Memphis 3.0 and the BuildDowntown master plan.

(For context, each year the Memphis in May festival removes hundreds of spaces from public use, reserving them for donors and sponsors. Yet, people still get to the festival by car, carshare, scooter, bike and yes, by walking.)

Memphis, Shelby County and the State of Tennessee, along with foundations, major Memphis businesses and hundreds of generous individuals are building something great for our community at Tom Lee Park. The scientific poll conducted about the park showed that more than 90% of Memphians are overwhelmingly enthusiastic about its design and what it will mean to the future of our city. That, most of all, is why together, we are creating a signature quality of life asset for our community on our riverfront.