CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The Clarksville Parking Commission has voted to approve two hours of free street parking downtown for users of the ParkMobile app, effective Aug. 1.

The proposal was discussed in-depth during Tuesday’s meeting; four citizens of Clarksville, two who worked for downtown businesses, spoke on the importance of allowing this grace period.

‘Are we providing the welcome?’

Downtown businesses have been struggling to keep their doors open recently. Three businesses have shut down since the last Parking Commission meeting, and three more are shutting down after their lease is up, according to commission member Darla Knight, also owner of Yada on Franklin. “So I think if we don’t act, we might as well just tell everybody we put a fence around downtown,” she said.

Jody Isaacs, owner of the Clarksville Collection on Franklin Street, spoke about her struggles due to the decrease of downtown patrons in the past months.

“You are getting almost no tax dollars from me now because I’ve had to wean back on my hours, because I can’t even pay the electric bill at this moment,” said Isaacs.

Many businesses are sharing this struggle, since many locals are deterred from visiting downtown because of the parking issue. Businesses and citizens were pushing for a time slot of free parking, so patrons can pop in shops without having to pay to park for a short stay.

“Are we providing the welcome, or are we putting out, you know, sometimes there’s cement and they have to figure out how to jump over it. That’s not a great welcome,” said Isaacs.

Parking Commission members also had their revenue to consider. Almost 32% of the commission’s revenue comes from street parking, about $195,000 in a fiscal year. Ultimately, their decision was to try two-hour free parking and see how big the impact is on overall revenue.

Impact for downtown businesses

Allowing the two-hour free parking period through Parkmobile also provides an incentive for locals to use the app, transferring parking to a cashless operation. Talk about redoing the parking meters or getting rid of them altogether was also discussed at the meeting. The Parkmobile app can be downloaded to your phone by going to Parkmobile on your phone.

“We do have the responsibility as a commission to be working with all our downtown partners, as creating or finding a solution to what we want to do,” said commission member Andy Kean.

| GET LOCAL MORNING NEWS: Sign up for the free daily Clarksville Now email newsletter