MEMPHIS, Tenn. — As visitors make their way to the new Tom Lee Park downtown, Memphis Police are cracking down on enforcing no-parking zones.

Police issued 62 tickets to drivers who were parked alongside Riverside Drive in the no-parking zones on Tuesday night.

Jerred Price, President of the Downtown Neighborhood Association, has closely followed the park’s plans over the years and says the parking has shrunk since the plans were originally pitched. 

“The frustration is the fact that, ‘I told you so’ just doesn’t do this justice,” Price said. “There’s a lot of great aspects of the park but the parking issue has always been something that has been a red flag for us.”

The Memphis River Parks Partnership acknowledges parking is limited along Riverside Drive but also said there are more than 2,000 additional parking spaces within a couple of blocks of the park. 

Price still has concerns.

“There are people and families that cannot afford to spend $5/$10 sometimes $20 on these parking garages or these paid parking spots that are up on the bluff,” Price said. “So they’re coming down to this new park that their taxpayer dollars paid for, and they just want to be able to park for free just like you can for every other park in the city.”

Price released the following message in response to Memphis Police,

“Our ask right now is for the police department to have some consideration and some mercy on the families that are parking up and down the street parallel. Let’s try to hold off on citing them, that would be one of our requests.”

The Memphis River Parks Partnership provided more parking information here.