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Parking in the French Quarter
Thursday, 14 November 2013 by Larry Lagarde
Planning a visit to RideTHISbike's bicycle shop in the French Quarter?
The French Quarter is great for bicycling and walking but parking a car here can become challenging. Happily, for customers that are driving over to our bike shop, you can park your personal vehicle in one of the 2, large, indoor garages right in our block. Following are some reasons why it's smart to park in one of the nearby garages.
A friend was visiting the bike shop this morning and had parked outside on the street. As we were talking, I heard the "beep - beep - beep" of a vehicle backing up. Instantly and subconsciously, I realized it was street cleaning day (Thursday) and that the sound was a tow truck backing up to tow my friend's car. I raced out of the store just as the tow truck was placing its forks under the front tires. I convinced them not to tow the vehicle but have seen others make the same request and be ignored.
Another parking issue is fee based on street parking. The Quarter has standard parking meters and streets with a single kiosk that issues timed parking receipts (which then must be placed in the window of your car). Meter reading is handled by a private contractor that earns revenue based on the fees it collects. The more parking tickets issued, the more they make so metered parking is strictly (even zealously) enforced. If you park at a meter that's broken or on a street where the kiosk out of service, you still get a parking ticket.
The other issue with parking on the street in the Quarter is whether the space is valid for parking. There are parking zones for local Quarter residents only. There are passenger zones only for passenger drop off and pick up. There are zones where you can park at certain times and cannot at others.
As for free on street parking in the Quarter, it does exist but there are only a handful of such spots left in the entirety of the Quarter. If you want to park for free, metered parking spaces are FREE on Sunday but not on any other day or holiday. And no matter what day it is, if you park too close to a street corner, driveway or in zones for passengers, taxis, fire trucks or freight loading, expect to get a ticket (and you don't want to get me started on the high cost of even a basic parking fine).
So for peace of mind, park in one of the 2, large, garages just steps from our door. We'll even reimburse you for an hour's worth of indoor parking when you spend $500 or more with us.
LL
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