NOVEMBER 26, 2024

The City of Dubuque is providing free parking at metered spaces and City-owned ramps and lots in the downtown area beginning on Thanksgiving (Thursday, Nov. 28) through Sunday, Dec. 1. 

The free downtown parking over the holiday weekend is meant to encourage Dubuque residents and visitors to shop at local downtown businesses. Thanksgiving weekend includes two major holiday shopping days, Black Friday and Small Business Saturday, which are critical to the yearly success of retailers in the Dubuque community.

“The City of Dubuque wants to do its part to help local businesses have a successful holiday shopping season,” says Director of Transportation Services Ryan Knuckey. “Continuing to offer free downtown parking, as we’ve done in previous years, is a small gesture that we hope makes a big difference in this vital time for many Dubuque retailers.”

Black Friday has long signaled the beginning of the holiday shopping season. It’s estimated that as many as 167 million Americans shopped either online or in-person on Black Friday in 2023, while global Black Friday sales climbed to nearly $71 billion. Meanwhile, Small Business Saturday celebrates its 15th anniversary this year. The U.S. Small Business Administration estimates shoppers spent $17 billion dollars at independent retailers and restaurants on Small Business Saturday in 2023.