St. Paul parking lots close for RNC

St. Paul, Minn. — About 4,000 commuters who park near the Xcel Energy Center in downtown St. Paul will have to give up their spaces during the Republican National Convention.

The Minneapolis-St. Paul host committee has reserved 15 downtown ramps and surface lots to make way for media parking and storage. Some ramps will not be used at all but will remain vacant for security reasons.

Map of RNC traffic

Some of the affected lots serve Cosetta's restaurant, Travelers and the Dorothy Day homeless shelter.

Most of the sites will be closed from August 30 to September 5, but a couple will close to the public as early as this Sunday to accommodate convention staff and journalists.

Commuters with monthly contracts will be relocated to other downtown sites and shuttled in. People who don't have contracts are encouraged to find other parking locations or take buses to work.

The city plans to announce more details about street closures and changes to bus routes in early August.