Downtown parking in Minneapolis, St. Paul slow to rebound

Remember the good old days when it was hard to snag a parking spot in one of the downtowns?

State of play: Demand for public parking spaces in Minneapolis and St. Paul remains low a year and a half into the pandemic, city data shows. Although there are signs of a rebound.

Why it matters: The numbers indicate a slow recovery for downtowns, and mean that both cities are losing out on revenues that are used to support city services.

The big picture: Minneapolis parking revenue fell from $52 million in 2019 to $27 million in 2020; in St. Paul, total revenue fell from $22 million to $12 million.

The latest: In Minneapolis, monthly revenue for ramps, lots and meters averaged more than $2 million in June, July and August, which is better than the summer of 2020, but still down from 2019, when monthly parking revenue topped $4 million.

• In St. Paul, monthly 2021 revenue at ramps and lots is down more than 50% compared to 2019 and is even down compared to 2020.

What's ahead: Expect the numbers to rise in the coming months as more workers return to the office, the Wolves and Wild begin playing in front of crowds again and concert schedules fill up.