I am a big believer in change. It brings about spirited conversation, excites adventurous souls and sometimes causes a lot of whining. When it comes to change in location for the June 20 Pride festival, I’ve already heard the beginnings of whining that will no doubt turn into a full blown tantrum in a few weeks. Even still, I find change to be necessary, so let me help you get your facts together.
The Pride festival's move to the River Front will bring about several postive changes to make up for the fact that parking will no longer be provided free of charge. Thanks to the new location, all of downtown Nashville and many lucky tourists will see our gay pride this year. The enclosed space means that we can walk around the entire festival space and drink our beer instead of standing under a hot tent like a bunch of clams in a steamer. And this year, thanks to the lack of a large available free lot, we are very lucky to have the chance to discover new places to park our gayed-up cars.
So let's chat about the available parking options, shall we?
If you choose to use one Nashville's many parking garages, your car will stay nice and cool in the June heat. Sure the stairwells between your parking space and the street may smell like pee, but it will just add to that authentic downtown experience of the new Nashville Pride.
If you are appalled at the possibility of getting a stinky whiff on what is arguably the best day of the year, there are many parking lots that dont require a trip down a flight of enclosed stairs, so don't be deterred!
And if you just can’t bring yourself to part with a single Abraham Lincoln to pay to park, then show up early at a meter in your rainbow bumper-stickered Subaru and snag a spot at one of the free meters around downtown. All meters will be free on a Saturday.
Pick your spot, drop a blanket down and enjoy the day's festivities. Afterall, if nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies. Embrace it.
For more information visit parkitdowntown.com.
There are 800 metered parking spaces available downtown and they are free on weekends.
The Library Garage (151 6th Avenue North) and the Metro Courthouse/Public Square Garage (101 James Robertson Parkway) make up 2,323 spaces in the downtown parking inventory.
The Library Garage has an all day rate of $6 and the Metro Courthouse/Public Square Garage is $12.
The Metro Courthouse/Public Square Garage has entrances on James Robertson Parkway and Gay Street. The Library Garage is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with easy access from either 6th Avenue North or 7th Avenue North.
If you live near downtown, you can hop on the bus for $1.60. It runs until 11 p.m. or later and five of the city's buses are hybrid. From Murfreesboro, the cost is $3. Must have cash to travel. View a bus schedule and map at NashvilleMTA.org.