87 new parking spaces added to downtown Idaho Falls

It’s now easier than ever to park downtown.

Wednesday, the city added 87 new free parking spots around the railroad tracks near West Broadway Street and Yellowstone Highway, right across from the State Office Building.

Officials say the new parking spots are primarily for state office employees, but they’ll indirectly help nearby businesses.

“It has a domino effect in that as people have a place to park all day while they’re working downtown. That allows us to free up more parking for folks that are going to be going into merchants and places of business shopping,” said Bob Everhart, executive director of the Idaho Falls Downtown Development Corporation.

At a cost to taxpayers of just over half a million dollars, these parking spots replace spots lost during last year’s reconstruction of Memorial Drive.

In addition, existing two-hour parking along several streets downtown has been redesignated as all-day parking.