Public Parking

Parking Garages

Garages are your best bet for affordable, long-term parking and a great way to park once and walk to multiple destinations. The first hour is free in all downtown garages. Unlike the meters, you can park in the garages as long as you need. Plus, anyone can park in permit spaces at night and on the weekends, permit spots are only held Monday-Friday from 8am to 6pm.

Garage Locations

• Eighth & Walnut

• Eighth & Cherry

• Sixth & Cherry

• Tenth & Cherry

• Fifth and Walnut

• Short Street

Parking Meters

Parking meters encourage turnover so spots will continuously open up throughout the day for people coming in. Feeding the meter is discouraged, please relocate your vehicle once your allotted time runs out. You can use the Parkmobile app to pay for hourly parking at meters and in garages. You can also pay for meter spaces with CoMo Park Cards.

Color-Coded Parking Length

• 10 hour meters Green

• 5 hour meters Orange

• 4 hour meters Purple

• 2 hour meters Grey

• 1 hour meters Red

• 24 minute meters Yellow

Curbside Pickup

To make supporting local businesses easier, the City of Columbia partnered with the District to bring 30 curbside pickup spaces downtown. These spaces are clearly marked with a “Ten-Minute Parking” sign and a red meter hood. Use them when you are picking up a takeout order or curbside order.

Parking Facts

According to their website, the City of Columbia has “nearly 1,700 parking spaces on downtown streets, 2,300 spaces in six garages, and 535 spaces on 10 lots, plus 80 accessible parking spaces.”

Permit Parking

GARAGE PARKING PERMITs

We recommend employees of District businesses park in one of the six downtown garages. Metered spaces in the garages are cheaper than the ones on the street, and there is no time limit on garage spaces. There is also a program for extended metered parking.

You may apply for a permit at City Hall, 701 East Broadway, 3rd floor. Contact (573) 874-6368 or email them at  parking-permit@gocolumbiamo.com for more details.

Parking Tip: All City parking permits come with an unlimited transit pass, save some money and commute via bus a few times a week. Or, share the wealth by giving it to an employee, a colleague, or a teen–anyone who doesn’t have a car or a parking permit of their own.