KSHB 41 reporter Grant Stephens covers downtown Kansas City, Missouri. He also focuses on stories of consumer interest. Share your story idea with Grant.
—
I cover Kansas City, so as discussions about a downtown stadium have fired back up again, I noticed so too have the debates over parking.
A map built by a parking reform group shows 29% of Kansas City consists of parking lots.
While these are not all empty or free lots, paying for parking isn't new to Royals fans.
Wednesday spot-checks of the parking available in the KC core found no lot totally full, regardless of business hours.
To get a wider view, I also called management of downtown parking garages and Jared Campbell with the Downtown KC Council to ask if that was normal.
They said parking availability ebbs and flows, but rarely are all 19,000 spaces within a 10-minute walk from Washington Square Park occupied.
Even on a busy night, expanding the search by a few minutes will yield a spot.
Additionally, the recent expansion of the streetcar to the Plaza opens up far more parking options outside of the 10-minute walking distance.
Cambell added, downtown parking would be a big shift - multiple private lots and garages taking in fans compared to the large, singular lot the Truman Sports Complex offers - but not one the city couldn’t handle with minimal changes.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
—
