Birmingham Parking Authority

The Birmingham Parking Authority, created in 1972, oversees the construction and operation of off-street public parking lots and decks for the City of Birmingham. The Authority is governed by a three-member board of directors, appointed by the Birmingham City Council.

The authority currently employs 70 full- and part-time personnel to operate 7 parking decks and 3 surface lots with a total of 8,116 parking spaces.

The authority was authorized by Act of Alabama 1971-2079 (link), which was signed by Governor George Wallace in October 1971. In its findings, the legislature determined that, "the free circulation of traffic on the streets of cities having a population of 300,000 or more is necessary to the health, safety and general welfare of the public," and that, "parking facilities in such cities are grossly inadequate.". It further explained that, "private enterprise has not been able to solve the problem, because private parking lots are frequently temporary in nature, located without regard for actual parking requirements, with vacant land being used for parking purposes in more or less haphazard fashion," and "those operating parking facilities impose upon the public by charging grossly excessive and oppressive fees for parking."

The 1971 law authorized the creation of a public corporation, comprised of three directors, who must be qualified electors and property owners in the city, to be elected by the Birmingham City Council. The Authority, in turn, was granted authority to issue revenue bonds, acquire property and impose service fees. Bill Voigt served for 14 years as executive director, and was also vice-chairman of the board under Ferd Weil. The authority was reclassified as a "dependent agency " for the 2002 Census of Governments.

In October 2020 the newly-formed Birmingham Economic Development Partners, headed by Shipt founder Bill Smith, offered to purchase six of the city's parking decks for $40,375,000, leaving Deck 2 adjacent to Boutwell Auditorium in BPA hands. Mayor Randall Woodfin supported the proposed sale as a way to offset the city's revenue shortfall from the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic, and potentially re-hire some of the 158 Birmingham Public Library staff on furlough. The BPA's board of directors criticized the proposal as "short-sighted," and said that it could modernize on its own.

Executive director Lynn Thomas resigned in 2019 and was succeeded by acting director Wanda Knight. A search committee hired long-time parking executive Daniel Lassiter. He accepted the offer, but then changed his mind two days before his anticipated start due to "personal family reasons". Consultant Brett Wood took his place as interim director as the search for a permanent CEO resumed.

BPA facilities

• owned parking decks
  • Birmingham Parking Authority Deck 2 (June 1976) - 801 19th Street North, 1472 Spaces - 9 Levels. $70/month
  • Birmingham Parking Authority Deck 3 (February 1976) - 401 20th Street North, 1371 Spaces - 9 Levels. $100-110/month
  • Birmingham Parking Authority Deck 4 (June 1984) - 2128 4th Avenue North, 673 Spaces - 8 Levels. $95/month
  • Birmingham Parking Authority Deck 5 (May 1983) - 2012 5th Avenue North, 408 Spaces - 8 Levels. $100-110/month
  • Birmingham Parking Authority Deck 6 (June 1987) - 2010 2nd Avenue North, 638 Spaces - 10 Levels'. $100-110/month
  • Birmingham Parking Authority Deck 7 (June 1987) - 509 17th Street North, 1607 Spaces - 9 Levels. $85/month
  • Birmingham Parking Authority Deck 8 (October 1991) - 2021 3rd Avenue South, 1114 Spaces - 11 Levels. $80/month
• managed parking decks
  • Five Points South Deck (April 1986) - 2012 Magnolia Avenue, 237 Spaces - 5 Levels - privately owned. $55/month
• parking lots
  • Birmingham Parking Authority Morris Avenue Lot 1 (December 1975) - 2299 Morris Avenue, A-1 126 Spaces/A-2 597 Spaces. $51/month
  • Birmingham Parking Authority Morris Avenue Lot 2. $43/month
  • Avondale Village (July 2015), 133 41st Street South, 160 spaces, $3/day

Former facilities

• Birmingham Parking Authority Lot B (2003-2008) - 5th Avenue North at Richard Arrington Jr Boulevard North, 104 Spaces. Demolished for the expansion of Deck 3.
• Birmingham Parking Authority Lot D (September 1975) - 1801 Powell Avenue, 218 Spaces. Sold to Alabama Power Company in late 2012 as part of the proposed redevelopment of the Powell Avenue Steam Plant.
• Birmingham Parking Authority Deck 9 (June 1994) - 1912 5th Avenue South, 840 Spaces - 8 Levels. Now owned and operated by UAB as the 5th Avenue Parking Deck.
  • Cooper Green Deck (1974–2022) - 1515 6th Avenue South, 915 Spaces - owned by Jefferson County

Executive directors

• Lynn Thomas, –2019
  • Wanda Knight (acting), 2019–March 23, 2021
  • Brett Wood (interim), March 24, 2021–February 28, 2022
• André Davis, March 1, 2022

References

• "Individual State Descriptions: 2002" 2002 Census of Governments Volume 1, Number 2, Individual State Descriptions
• Bryant, Joseph D. (December 20, 2006) "Local man complains to state ethics group on city's refinance deal." The Birmingham News
• Bryant, Joseph D. (June 11, 2007) "Parking Authority to raise rates for deck, lot lease holders." The Birmingham News
• Bryant, Joseph D. (April 3, 2008) "City replacing parking deck security cameras with digital versions." The Birmingham News
• Prickett, Sam (October 22, 2020) "Woodfin Says Sale of Parking Decks Would Lessen COVID-19’s Economic Damage." BirminghamWatch
• Johnson, Roy S. (October 22, 2020) "Will proposed sale of parking decks save library jobs, speed neighborhood revitalization?" The Birmingham News
• Coker, Angel (October 26, 2020) "Birmingham Parking Authority responds to potential sale of downtown decks." Birmingham Business Journal
• Coker, Angel (October 27, 2020) "Bill Smith talks plans for downtown parking decks if city approves sale." Birmingham Business Journal
• Johnson, Roy S. (February 16, 2021) "Johnson: Parking garages? No sale, but hopefully a vastly improved Birmingham Parking Authority." The Birmingham News
• Johnson, Roy S. (March 1, 2021) "Birmingham Parking Authority hires new CEO; faces challenge restoring agency’s tainted reputation." The Birmingham News
• "New CEO of Birmingham Parking Authority Declines Job, Days Before His Start" (March 22, 2021) The Birmingham Times
• Coker, Angel (October 5, 2021) "Birmingham Parking Authority names André Davis CEO." Birmingham Business Journal
• Fleming, David (April 21, 2023) "A Call for a Parking Revolution." Downtownbhm.com
• O'Leary, A. J. (May 11, 2023) "Birmingham Parking Authority launches new parking strategic plan." Birmingham Business Journal

External Links

• Birmingham Parking Authority website
• Birmingham Parking Authority on Facebook.com