Parking is one of the essential aspects of a successful downtown. Decisions about how and where it is provided must be made with the overall goals for downtown in mind. Therefore, the goal of the City is to create a comprehensive and integrated system of downtown parking that provides convenient and safe parking in a cost effective manner for visitors, employees and residents that is consistent with the vision for a vibrant and active downtown.  The following principles underpin the development of a more effective parking system for Chattanooga:

• Parking should be supplied, managed and operated in the most comprehensive way possible and be considered a kind of downtown infrastructure.
• On-street parking should be maximized as the most valuable space to give a boost to street level activities in the downtown. 
• Surface lots and decks should be used for longer-term (over 1-2 hours) parking
• Creative and convenient ways to reduce regular single car occupancy travel downtown should be a part of an overall accessibility strategy
• The provision of new parking facilities should be done in such a way to reduce the loss of historic structures, be in keeping with good urban design factors such as size and scale, enhance the likelihood of complementary private development and be financially sound.
• Downtown parking and transit should be managed as a comprehensive system