Charleston, South Carolina — In anticipation of potential tropical weather impacts, the City of Charleston will begin offering free parking at three downtown garages on Monday afternoon.
Tropical Depression Nine formed on Saturday morning and is expected to gradually strengthen into Tropical Storm Imelda by Saturday night. The National Hurricane Center’s 2 p.m. advisory indicated that the system’s maximum sustained winds were nearly 35 mph.
The center of the system is expected to move across the central and northwestern Bahamas on Sunday before approaching the southeastern US coast early next week, bringing the threat of heavy rainfall and flooding.
The following garages will open at noon on Sept. 29 to keep city residents’ vehicles safe:
Visitor’s Center Garage (63 Mary Street)
Garage locations include 99 WestEdge (99 Westedge St) and Charleston Tech Center (997 Morrison Dr).
Residents must press the call button when leaving the garage to notify the operator that they are using the free storm parking.
Boats, trailers, and golf carts are not eligible for free parking in designated garages.
In preparation, city crews have cleared storm drains and roadside ditches in flood-prone areas, placed temporary pumps in low-lying areas, and set up road barricades.
Water levels were also reduced at Colonial Lake and Lake Dotterer.
