Parking preps for Harley-Davidson's 110th Anniversary

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Preparations for Harley-Davidson’s 110th Anniversary Celebration in Milwaukee are nearing completion. But it's not all party planning. Parking planning has been just as rigorous.

Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward will be a prime parking spot for motorcyclists this coming weekend. It's just minutes away from the Summerfest grounds, where many of the Harley-Davidson festivities will be held. But the area is also home to a weekend art festival. All the added traffic, on top of the fact that the area is known for parking challenges just on a normal weekday, has many people planning ahead.

Stefanie Kivi with Downtown Auto Parking says they have been planning and preparing non-stop for the event.

“We have to schedule extra staff to prepare for it, for the increased traffic, we have to make sure that all of our pricing is the same,” said Stefanie Kivi.

Stefanie Kivi said the lot located in the Historic Third Ward is just one of 15 lots they will be running this upcoming weekend -- some with as many as 200 available spaces. Each lot has an on-site attendant. With so much space to manage, organization is key.

“It’s not just people from Milwaukee, its people from all over the U.S. and different countries, so you might have a language barrier and people who are unfamiliar with the area,” said Kivi.

Of course, the company’s 35 years of experience helps. One thing they're doing differently this time around is making the most of every space. Instead of just one bike per stall, up to three will be allowed.

“What we realized is the best way to do this is to promote a great parking price, so instead of charging $10 a bike like a lot of our competitors are doing, we decided to do $10 dollars per stall. It gives the riders the opportunity to park together and also do a cost savings,” said Kivi.

Downtown auto parking’s lots, like many others in the area, are first come first serve.

Here is a list of other downtown parking options: