By David Sher
Sometimes you have to take a chance. Do the unexpected. Be different.
Birmingham has always been risk-averse. But there comes a time when we have to say enough is enough.
Those of you who come downtown regularly may have noticed new signs indicating payment for on-street parking will soon be required 24 hours a day. We’re shooting ourselves in the foot.
The Golden Age We Left Behind
Growing up on Birmingham’s Southside, I witnessed downtown’s glory days. My father owned a retail store there, and I spent countless hours wandering bustling streets filled with families shopping at Loveman’s and Pizitz, catching movies at downtown theaters, and dining at Joy Young’s. The streets were packed, especially during Christmas season, with shoppers enjoying the decorated windows.
Back then, downtown was our city’s beating heart.
The Great Abandonment
When shopping centers sprouted in the suburbs, retail fled downtown. Birmingham’s response was puzzling. In the 1970s, we embarked on a beautification campaign that proved to be a well-intentioned disaster. Planters appeared on 2nd and 3rd Avenue North. Green spaces bloomed along 19th Street and 20th Street became “Birmingham Green.”
While aesthetically pleasing, they came at a devastating cost—parking spaces disappeared. Downtown retailers struggled as customers couldn’t find places to park. Meanwhile, the bus system began its slow decline. Much of that greenery has since been removed, but the damage was done. Parking in downtown Birmingham became a chronic headache that persists today.
Learning from Our Competition
Walking the Jemison Trail in Mountain Brook recently, a friend told me: “I never go downtown. Parking is a pain in the…”
This sentiment is Birmingham’s biggest obstacle—and our greatest opportunity.
Every time I visit Mountain Brook or Homewood, I’m reminded of what we’re up against. Mountain Brook offers three to four hours of free parking. Homewood provides free parking too. Both cities offer angle parking, creating more spaces while eliminating parallel parking anxiety.
These suburban competitors understand something fundamental: eliminating parking stress encourages people to stay longer, shop more, and return frequently.
Chattanooga gets it. They offer free electric shuttle service downtown with the first hour of parking free in their garages.
The irony? At a recent downtown parking planning meeting in Birmingham, I had to email the organizer to ask where I should park. If people attending a meeting about parking solutions can’t easily figure out where to park, how can we expect casual visitors to navigate the system?
The Economic Reality
Critics worry that free parking means lost revenue. This thinking misses the bigger picture entirely. A vibrant downtown with thriving retail generates far more tax revenue than parking meters ever could.
When people park easily and affordably, they stay downtown longer, visit multiple businesses, return more frequently, bring friends and family, and attend more events. Each behavior generates sales tax revenue and supports local jobs.
The math is simple: Would you rather collect $2 per hour from parking meters or generate hundreds of dollars in sales tax from shoppers who actually want to come downtown?
A Bold Proposal: Two Hours of Free Parking
Birmingham should implement two hours of free on-street parking throughout downtown north of the railroad tracks. There’s ample parking there, but it’s not perceived that way.
It’s not necessary to include Southside around UAB, where traffic now exceeds pre-COVID levels. But let’s give downtown north the boost it needs. While downtown activity is increasing, it hasn’t reached pre-COVID numbers.
The solution requires coordination between three entities: the City of Birmingham (on-street parking), the Birmingham Parking Authority (public parking decks), and the Birmingham Transit Authority (public transportation). Require long-term parkers like employees to use parking decks, implement free shuttles so visitors can park anywhere and ride to their destination, and strictly enforce time limits.
The revenue lost from parking fees would be offset by increased economic activity. More importantly, it would signal that Birmingham is serious about making downtown accessible again.
This Is Birmingham’s Moment
Downtown Birmingham isn’t just competing with other cities—it’s competing with its own suburbs. And the suburbs have one glaring competitive advantage: free parking.
This is our moment to show that sometimes the best way forward isn’t repeating what failed in the past. Other cities charge for parking because that’s what they’ve always done. But Birmingham has a chance to be different, to be the city that prioritizes accessibility over revenue extraction.
When you face serious competition, you must take chances. When others zig, you must zag.
Free parking isn’t just about convenience—it’s about removing barriers that keep people away from our downtown businesses, restaurants, and cultural venues. It’s about making downtown Birmingham a destination people choose rather than avoid.
The suburbs figured this out long ago. It’s time downtown caught up.
David Sher is the founder and publisher of ComebackTown. He’s past Chairman of the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce (BBA), Operation New Birmingham (REV Birmingham), and the City Action Partnership (CAP).
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