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Backstory

In Mid-August 2026, Crosstown Concourse announced new parking rules. Previously, the upper levels of the garage were 100% free parking without any vehicle registration required. Now, all parking in the garage and nearby lots require registration through the Metropolis app. Parking can be validated for up to 3 hours by visiting any participating Crosstown organization (including many free destinations). The change caused an uproar in the Memphis community. The concerns went beyond just lack of easy, free parking — people expressed not wanting to be surveilled, not wanting AI technology reading their license plates (including from nearby Flock cameras), and disapproval of the vendor Metropolis, who recently settled a lawsuit in Nashville for bad business practices. I saw the story differently — all of these concerns are valid, yet all are connected to car dependency. I ride my bike to Crosstown through the Vollintine-Evergreen neighborhood and feel safe, but most Memphians cannot get there safely without a car. I created a petition asking the city mayor & city council to provide safer and more reliable transportation options to Crosstown. As of Sept 17, 2026, the petition has over 650 signatures.

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Social Media Content

Newsletter - August 23, 2026 (99 opens) Instagram Reel - August 24, 2026 (15K views) TikTok Video - August 24, 2026 (7K views) LinkedIn Post - August 24, 2026 (723 impressions) Instagram Post - September 1, 2026 (28K views) TikTok Post - September 1, 2026 (1K views) As of Sept 17, 2026: ~52K total views

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Media Coverage

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Results

After removing duplicates, 641 unique signatures remain in the petition results. The two open comment fields were coded for whether they mention biking, walking, transit, Metropolis, survelliance/AI, free parking, and if they or a family member are a non-driver. Shockingly, a lot of Memphians want better transit. Twice as many comments mentioned transit compared to comments that mentioned wanting free parking back. Could this just be due to my audience? Sure. But I think it highlights something our politicians aren’t talking about: People don’t necessarily want to have to drive everywhere in Memphis.

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Zip Code Analysis

Unsurprisingly, the zip code of signers varied across the county, with a higher concentration nearest Crosstown. A full zip code summary can be viewed below.

Show Zip Code Table Summary

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Some stand-out comments

I wish it was safer to bike on Cleveland or have a reliable and consistent transportation route from Overton square to Crosstown. If the Madison line ran every 15-20 minutes from end to end with a stop on Cleveland it would make it easier to reach that grocery store or walk to Crosstown. It would be truly amazing to see Mata prioritize routes to anchoring area where people enjoy visiting and have high employment and traffic volumes. I wish it was easier for tourists and locals to visit Overton, Cooper young, Crosstown, The Edge, and downtown without needing a car. The Madison line can connect all of these and the fact that I have to wait two hours for a bus to maybe show up is an atrocity.

This person understands density and connecting nodes.. seems like a no-brainer to me!

Hello, I spent the last four years of my life with walking as my main transportation. I’ve recently bought a car and the difference is insane.

You shouldn’t need a private vehicle to access opportunities!

I live in Evergreen and frequently run across traffic to get to crosstown because there is not crosswalk at Galloway Avenue. When I moved here I was blown away by that. In any other city, Galloway would have a crosswalk for pedestrians, and my neighbors and I would have a safe and pleasant path to Crosstown.

Galloway is only 1 block away from the nearby pedestrian crosswalk at North Parkway, but several comments mentioned wanting to cross safely here. This highlights something interesting to me: People really feel it as a pedestrian when they are not prioritized. An extra 5min walk out of their way can feel like a barrier — remember that next time you see someone “jaywalking” on Summer or Union.

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Resources

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The Petition (You can still sign but I’m not actively monitoring responses at this time)