June 5, 2026
Opinion: Millbrook's Downtown Parking Problem Isn't Going Away on Its Own
The city has been talking about downtown parking for a decade. It's time we stopped talking and started building.
MILLBROOK, June 12 — Every Saturday morning, I watch the same scene play out from my window above the corner of Elm and 4th: drivers circling the block three, four, sometimes five times, getting more frustrated with each lap. A few give up and head to the Riverside Mall instead. That's money leaving our downtown, folks, and it happens every single weekend.
A Decade of Studies, Zero Garages
The city commissioned its first downtown parking study back in 2014. Then another in 2018. Then a task force in 2021 that produced a 94-page report that, as far as I can tell, is gathering dust somewhere in City Hall. Meanwhile, merchants on Commerce Street report that foot traffic during peak weekend hours has dropped nearly 18 percent since 2019. The connection isn't hard to make. Our neighboring city of Dellwood built a 400-space garage near their arts district in 2020 and saw a measurable uptick in retail sales the following year. Millbrook can do the same — if council members stop treating bold decisions like political kryptonite.
- Current metered spots downtown: 312
- Average weekend occupancy rate: 94%
- Estimated demand gap: 150–200 additional spaces
- Proposed garage cost (2022 estimate): $6.2 million
I'm not saying this is simple. Financing a parking structure takes real political will, and yes, someone's ox will get gored in the process. But the alternative — another study, another task force, another decade of circular driving — is a choice too. And it's a choice that's slowly strangling the businesses that make Millbrook worth living in. Call your council rep. Tell them you'd like a garage, not a report.
