Downtown valet parking pilot program begins next Friday, Jan. 16, at nine locations throughout the downtown core. The service will operate Friday through Sunday from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Valet service costs $20 per vehicle during regular hours and $30 during special events. ACE Parking III, LLC will operate the service with uniformed attendants. The text-based ticketless system called TEZ allows mobile payment without requiring an app download.
The nine valet zones include locations near the Riverside Municipal Auditorium, the The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture, Fox Performing Arts Center and the Riverside Convention Center. Valet stands use loading zones on Orange Street, Market Street, Lemon Street and University Avenue that typically sit empty during weekend evenings when deliveries aren't occurring, plus metered spaces on Mission Inn Avenue.
Vehicles will be parked in Garage 6, which sees low utilization during weekend evenings. Janice Penner, executive director of the Riverside Downtown Partnership, said the city designed the program to avoid disadvantaging businesses without direct valet access. "The City has made a commitment that valet stations and valet parking will not be at the expense of self-parkers," she said.
The Riverside Downtown Partnership has supported the program from its initial concept. "It will be a significant enhancement of not only the Downtown parking experience but of the Downtown Riverside experience," Penner said.
Customers can request their vehicles be delivered to a different valet stand from where they dropped them off.
Downtown businesses can purchase pre-paid validation packages for $1,800 covering 100 vehicles, or validate on a per-vehicle basis at the standard $20-$30 rate.
Garage 6 has 24/7 security patrols and monitoring.
The city will conduct a mid-year review in June 2026 to evaluate usage data and community feedback before deciding whether to extend the program.
