On-street parking in downtown Pensacola will remain free until at least Oct. 1.
Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves said on May 27 that the free on-street parking that started with the New Palafox project will continue until Oct. 1, but that is to give the city time to develop and advertise new changes to downtown parking.
Reeves said the changes that are being planned “should make life easier” on city residents and the surrounding community residents who visit downtown often.
“Nothing is solidified yet, but I can give you some anecdotal examples of things we’re looking at,” Reeves said. “Senior permits, we’re talking about expanding, not just the city residents, but to all seniors, where it would be $10 a month. It’s on your license plate; you can get out like you’re parking in your own driveway. You don’t have to get a phone out. We know that’s a big pain point, especially for some of our seniors.”
Reeves said that he’s working on the details directly with City Council President Allison Patton, who represents the downtown area.
He added that the other changes under consideration won’t be “wildly different,” but they are evaluating parking data to see if there should be changes to paid zones or parking hours.
“We still need to be able to pay for a parking garage that we need and be able to turn these dollars and reinvest them in the city, 80% of those dollars coming from people who don’t live in the city,” Reeves said.
Initially, the plan was to return to paid on-street parking as soon as the entire New Palafox was completed in early July. Reeves told the News Journal last week that they were considering extending free parking as they considered parking changes.
“The worst thing you can do, even if you’re making good policy change, is to be doing it every three months,” Reeves said.
The free parking only applies to on-street parking and paid parking lots owned by the city like the Jefferson Street Parking Garage.
Private lots are also still charging for parking but the city is stepping up enforcement on parking regulations implemented last year that require a black and white sign identifying it as a privately-owned lot with the name of the lot’s owner and a 24/7 contact number.
City code enforcement looked at the city’s 44 private lots that charge for parking and found that none of them had complied with the new city ordinance.
The property owners will be sent notices of code enforcement violations and will have 30 days to comply or face fines.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: On-street parking will stay free in downtown Pensacola until October
Reporting by Jim Little, Pensacola News Journal / Pensacola News Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
