Alley Slot Franklin, Tennessee, follows the alley slot parking pattern. Off-street parking is organized along alleys that bisect almost all downtown blocks and run parallel to the main commercial street. The alleys connect to cross streets leading to the downtown center and provide pedestrian access to businesses. Perimeter Ames, Iowa, provides a good example of the perimeter parking pattern. A virtually unbroken band of parking lots, usually situated at the rear of blocks facing the commercial center, encircles the commercial district.
Pedestrians use sidewalks along cross streets to reach businesses and retail stores.
In many communities based on the perimeter parking model, parking lot construction has disrupted historic building patterns in outlying parts of the downtown area. Block Interior New Bern, North Carolina, is typical of communities modeled on the block interior parking pattern. The center of each of two blocks on either side of the town's main commercial street is occupied by large parking lots. Previously, storage buildings occupied these sites. A small amount of on-street parking also is available.