TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) - Parking is one of the great hassles of life.
Now people who live and work near the Tucson Convention Center -- say when that place gets busy, it's a hassle for them because drivers spill into their neighborhoods and clog up their streets.
Now the city of Tucson is moving to stop the parking problems.
The Gem Shows, professional hockey, and the wide range of events at TCC can make drivers struggle to find a space or want to escape TCC parking fees.
That can send them across the street to the neighborhood of Barrio Viejo, to make the streets there a clogged, congested nuisance.
Steve Holmes works in Barrio Viejo. He says, “Normal parking is a challenge just because it's limited space, period. But with the spillover, then it gets that much more complicated, that much more contrived to find spaces."
Right near the TCC, there's the El Minuto café. The place is often pretty busy but they say sometimes, they come out to the parking lot and it is absolutely full but inside the restaurant it's close to empty.
The city did an elaborate study and found even when there's plenty of parking at TCC people still go for free parking in Barrio Viejo.
So now with the Gem Shows about to make TCC busy for a solid month, the city will make more areas short term parking only so drivers without a sticker that says they're a resident, will be more likely to get a ticket.
Park Tucson Director Donovan Durband says, “We're going to be extending those two hour time limits into the evenings, until ten o'clock and then on the weekends as well."
And the city will be promoting other places to park, along with the idea that the streetcar is a great way to get to TCC.
