DOWNTOWN PARKING SAGA, CONTINUED. For the first time in over a decade, downtown Eau Claire will have paid street parking – just not as soon as anticipated. City Council approved the postponement of the new parking system's implementation, pushing it back from June 1 to Aug. 1.

Eau Claire City Council saw one of the community's most contentious topics – parking in downtown Eau Claire; what else? – back at the dais during its Tuesday, May 26 meeting.

Just one agenda item was up for public hearing: the postponement of downtown's paid parking implementation. After unanimous council approval, the new paid parking system will go into effect on Aug. 1 instead of June 1.

Interim City Manager Dave Solberg, who presented to council on behalf of Parking Administrator Aaron Roths, who was out sick, pointed to the parking kiosks' delivery delay as the “main factor” behind the postponement.

ParkEC.org currently shares this map, displaying where paid street parking will be implemented and how much it will cost ($0.50 to $1 per hour.)

“(The kiosks) should arrive in June but then there’s also necessary preparation for the bases and foundations (for them),” Solberg said.

In total, the City of Eau Claire plans to install 25 kiosks throughout the downtown area, Roths told Volume One. Those kiosks cost $7,995 each, totaling just shy of $200,000 in technology investment.

Revenue generated by paid parking – in just five months, from Aug. 1 through end of year – will be roughly $285,000, Roths said.

Additionally, City staff expect the new system to streamline parking enforcement efforts.

“Right now, with the two-hour parking, (staff) go through downtown, electronically chalk the tires and then go (back) through two hours later and enforce,” Solberg told council. “After paid parking goes through, it will simply be (enforced based on) whether you paid or not.”

Parking-related duties will also be consolidated from several City departments – currently, those include the community services, engineering, neighborhood services and police departments – to one or two, Solberg said.

A (very) brief peek into downtown Eau Claire's history with paid parking

Without completely rehashing the past decade-plus worth of downtown area parking woes (regarding recent projects, Volume One published a more comprehensive update earlier this year), the last significant adjustment to downtown's overall parking structure was in 2013.

Then, in an effort to encourage people to spend more time downtown, the traffic and parking systems were transformed: Barstow Street and Graham Avenue were converted from single-lane to two-way streets to improve traffic flow, parking meters were removed and two-hour parking limits were put in place.

Since 2013, a few more parking studies have been completed, including a 2019 study which recommended adding paid street parking back into downtown. The most recent 2024 study once again recommended implementing paid parking.

According to the City, its general fund, made up of property tax dollars, has been eating the “cost” of downtown's free street parking ever since – totaling around $355,000 in 2025.

City, DECI partner to create ParkEC.org 

Marketing of the soon-to-be-implemented paid parking structure is being headed by Downtown Eau Claire, Inc. (DECI), which received the City contract for those communication efforts earlier this year. 

DECI and the City have partnered to create ParkEC.org, an online resource to explain how the paid parking system – including the Passport parking app and kiosks – works.

Notably, the website includes information on “Quick Stop” parking spaces, parking permit options for downtown business owners and employees, downtown parking maps and more.

Those Quick Stop parking spaces (available for up 15 minutes at a time, the website states) are intended for “patrons picking up orders, a quick coffee, etc.,” Parking Administrator Roths said – not for delivery trucks.

Under the “For Businesses” section on ParkEC.org, business owners and managers are encouraged to contact Roths to acquire parking permits for themselves and their employees – intended for use in the Gibson Street parking ramp; at a $5/person monthly rate – via email (neighborhoodservices2@eauclairewi.gov).

ParkEC.org will be sharing updated parking maps and information soon – once those assets and info are provided by the City – DECI staff told Volume One. As of May 26, some information on the site was outdated or absent.

This is a developing story. Learn more about downtown Eau Claire's paid parking plans and related information online at ParkEC.org or reach out to Neighborhood Services via email.