Often there is a need within the downtown area to reserve or remove parking spaces for activities that may not abide by the posted parking regulations. Examples of these activities include, but are not limited to moving, delivery & removal of goods, construction activities, performance of specialized business tasks, locating of temporary storage units, locating of construction equipment, general construction, special event activities, etc. Without this type of permit the requestor would be seen as a violator and could be subject to ticketing or subsequently being towed.
Permit Request
Each person or business needing this type of permit can submit an application for a Parking Permit -
Download Parking Permit Application [PDF]. The requestor will submit the completed application to the Traffic Engineering Division for review a minimum of 4 working days prior to the date/time of the needed permit. Each application will be reviewed using the following criteria:
1. Determine whether issuance of the parking permit would place undue hardships on local businesses and private citizens by the reduction of available parking or limit access of pedestrians, bicycles and/or vehicular traffic within the area.
2. Determine whether this or another location would better serve the City, local businesses and the citizens.
3. Determine whether conflicts would exist with other activities such as Special Events, construction closures or restrictions previously requested in the area.
The application will be evaluated according to the criteria listed above and will either be approved, approved with noted changes or denied. The following procedures for each are:
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Approval Procedure -Upon approval or approval with noted changes a Parking Permit will be issued to the requestor via email, standard mail and/or facsimile.
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Denial Procedure -Upon denial a copy of the permit with "DENIAL" written across the permit application will be returned to the requestor outlining the reason(s) for denial by either email, standard mail and/or facsimile.
This can involve work from both the Parking Systems staff and the Sign & Marking staff depending on the type of devices being deployed.
The applicant is responsible for displaying the Parking Permit in the vehicle, posting within the area or having a copy available upon request by Parking Enforcement Officers. It should be noted that the Parking Permit is only applicable for the original requestor, location, dates, and times on the permit. Any misuse of the permits such as alteration, duplication, or modification without the expressed written consent of the approving authority will result in violation of the agreement and make the permit null and void. The misuse of the Parking Permit can result in the refusal to issue future permits to the requestor.
Signs will be placed stating “Temporary No Parking” 24 hours in advance. These signs will display the permit number and the effective dates/times for the reservation. If the location is a metered parking space a bag will also be placed over the meter at the time of the event.
The permit gives the requestor the right to have vehicles in the area towed in order to have the space available but this requires the parking restrictions to be in place for a minimum of 24 hours. It is the responsibility of the requestor to verify the measures are in place 24 hours in advance, if the measures are not in place at that time please contact the Engineering Dept.
Charges Related to Parking Space Reservation
Metered parking spaces will be charged the hourly rate for the enforcement period. These rates and enforcement periods are detailed below:
• 2 Hour Meters - $1.50 per hour
• 10 Hour Meters $.30 per hour
• Enforcement hours for Gay Street from Hill Avenue to Summit Hill, Wall Avenue, Union Avenue from Locust Street to Gay Street, and Market Street from Clinch Avenue to Union Avenue are 8:00 am to 10:00 pm. All other parking enforcement hours will be from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm
Unmetered parking spaces will be charged a rate of $15 per day, per space.
There is a minimum charge of $25.
Construction activities that require parking meters to be removed will be charged $100 per parking meter removed.
Annual Parking Permits
This type of permit would be requested on an annual basis for businesses to perform regularly occurring essential tasks that would normally be ticketed due to non-compliance with posted parking rules and regulations. The business would need this type of permit to park where parking is either prohibited and/or the time restrictions would cause the activity being planned to violate the time restrictions for this location. This permit would be valid for one calendar year.
The cost for this type of permit is $250.00 per year. Any violations of the area for which the initial application was made constitutes a violation of the agreement between the City and the requestor. This type of violation will result in revocation of the permit.
Fee Forgiveness
Any of these costs may be forgiven for the following types of organizations:
• Non-profit organizations
• Charitable organizations
• Government organizations
• Contractors completing work as part of a City of Knoxville project
• Any other organization as determined by the Parking Committee