Rapid City Council approves controversial new parking plan

RAPID CITY, SD –  Big changes will be happening with downtown parking in Rapid City after the common council approved the controversial parking plan Monday night in a 6-3 vote.

The sweeping changes include two-hour limits on some spots downtown, digital parking meters and fines being knocked down to $15.

The parking study was conducted over several months, and the data collection was during the peak visitor season, in July. Other data collected by city staff was used with new technology that has only been in place since last fall.

But still, some are skeptical about how it will work with summer traffic. As council member John Roberts put it, “If there is an issue, that can be extremely difficult with a retail business. One bad month can mean death to a retail business”

The plan is expected to bring in at least two-and-a-half million dollars over the next five years, and is expected to go into effect early next month.

(A previous version of this story stated that the majority of the parking study was conducted in the off-season.)