COLUMBUS, Ga. - Parking in Uptown Columbus is free, but it comes with rules that catch plenty of visitors. The city and Uptown Columbus Inc. list five parking decks open to the public at no charge, while street spaces are limited to two hours. Here is where to park, how many spaces each deck has and how to avoid a ticket on Broadway.

Uptown's free parking is a selling point for the district. Uptown Columbus, the nonprofit that promotes the downtown area, advertises free parking across its decks so visitors do not have to circle the block looking for a space. The catch is that each deck has its own hours or floors set aside for the public.

The Free Parking Decks

The RiverCenter deck is the biggest option that is open around the clock. Located at 919 Broadway next to the RiverCenter for the Performing Arts, it has 685 spaces and is free to the public at all hours, except for reserved spaces. It is the easiest choice for a show at the RiverCenter or dinner on Broadway.

The other decks come with conditions. The Bay Avenue deck, at the corner of Bay Avenue and 12th Street, has 770 spaces but is open to the public only on weekends, from 5 p.m. Friday to 8 a.m. Monday. The Front Avenue deck at 1028 Front Ave. is open to the public 24 hours a day, but only its first floor, about 115 spaces, because floors two through five are reserved for W.C. Bradley Co. employees and Columbus State University RiverPark housing.

Two more decks round out the list. The First Avenue deck, at the corner of First Avenue and 11th Street, has 155 spaces and is open around the clock. At Riverfront Place, 1300 Front Ave., public parking is limited to levels P3 through P5.

Other City Lots

The city runs a few more parking areas near Uptown. The 9th Street lot, at 9th Street and 2nd Avenue, has 125 spaces. The City Services Center garage at 1601 Midtown Drive has free public parking on its first and second floors, with the third floor reserved for employees.

Drivers with electric vehicles have an option on Linwood Boulevard. The Linwood Park & Ride, at 900 Linwood Blvd., has 28 free spaces and two EV charging stations. It sits a short drive from Uptown, near the METRA administrative office.

Monthly parking is available for people who work Uptown. The city leases spaces in the Bay Avenue garage on a monthly basis. For prices, call Cherie Sanders in the city.s parking office at (706) 571-6059.

The 2-Hour Street Parking Rule

Street parking in Uptown has a two-hour limit, and Broadway has a stricter version of the rule. On Broadway, the city says you cannot park more than two hours total in a day on any one block. Moving your car to another space on the same block does not reset the clock; you have to move to a different block, and then a new two-hour limit begins.

The rule is a little different on other Uptown streets. Off Broadway, drivers must move to another block or to a space on the opposite side of the street within the same block to avoid a citation. The city enforces the limits in the area between 9th and 14th streets and from Bay Avenue to 3rd Avenue.

Enforcement also covers a few areas outside Uptown. The city patrols parking around Lakebottom Park, between Garrard Street and 13th Street and between 18th Avenue and Cherokee Avenue. Street parking on 9th Avenue between Linwood Boulevard and 15th Street is enforced, too.

Residential Permits

People who live in Uptown's parking-enforced areas can get a residential permit. The permit costs $25 and must be renewed every year, and it is valid only in designated residential parking areas. It does not work in 15-minute or 30-minute zones or on streets outside the parking management area.

Applicants need to bring a lease or deed, a current utility bill, a current vehicle registration and a valid driver's license. The city accepts credit and debit cards, checks, money orders and cash. Applications are available from METRA's parking enforcement division at the RiverCenter garage, 919 Broadway.

If You Get a Ticket

Parking tickets in Uptown are handled by METRA's Parking Enforcement Division. Drivers can pay a ticket online through the city's parking violations portal, metraparkingviolations.apps.columbusga.gov. Questions about tickets, permits or the garages go to the parking office at 919 Broadway, (706) 225-4584.

The simplest way to avoid a ticket is to use a deck. With more than 1,700 free deck spaces listed between the RiverCenter, Bay Avenue, Front Avenue and First Avenue decks, there is usually room for anyone visiting for more than a couple of hours. Weekend visitors have the most choices, since the Bay Avenue deck opens to the public on Friday evenings.