Visitors to downtown Sarasota may soon face longer parking hours and higher fines.
Under a proposed ordinance, the Sarasota City Commission will consider May 4, street parking would be enforced earlier in the morning and later into the evening.
On March 23, the commission unanimously approved extending street parking hours to 8 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week, and increasing parking fines by $5.
Currently, street parking in downtown Sarasota’s Judicial District — defined by the city as Main Street and Ringling Boulevard east of U.S. 301 — is enforced from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. All other on-street downtown parking is enforced from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. The cost for both is $1.50 per hour.
A time violation or unpaid meter is currently a $25 fine, while an expired registration or parking outside a marked space costs $35.
If approved, the new hours would take effect June 1.
How much more money will the new rules generate?
The increase in paid parking hours would generate about $2.72 million in new money annually.
Based on an average of 50,000 citations issued annually, the fine increase would generate about $280,750 a year.
Sarasota’s parking division is an enterprise fund, which means it should be able to fund itself without tapping city reserves.
A combination of lost revenues and an increase in maintenance costs partly attributed to the impact of the 2024 hurricane season and street flooding — especially on St. Armands Key — means that for the 2026 fiscal year, the parking department is projected to lose $270,784.
That’s based on projected revenues of $6.29 million vs. $6.56 million in expenditures.
“We’re looking at trying to get ourselves out of the hole and staying out of the hole as well,” Broxton Harvey, Sarasota parking general manager, told the city commission on March 23.
Will the changes solve the parking department’s budget woes?
Based on city projections, the increases would allow the parking enterprise fund to operate in the black, even while paying for significant capital improvements over the next five years, such as replacement of elevators, installation of license plate readers, and new vehicles.
In the 2027 fiscal year, the anticipated combined parking revenues are almost $9.8 million compared with expenditures of $8.8 million.
Where else can you park in downtown Sarasota?
The city offers three public parking facilities centrally located downtown on State Street, Palm Avenue and Second Street at the Whole Foods parking garage. For more information, including garage rates, visit sarasotafl.gov/parking.
Earle Kimel primarily covers local governments in Sarasota County as well as land development and environmental issues for the Herald-Tribune. Follow him on Facebook, and X. He can be reached by email at earle.kimel@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism by subscribing.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota parking changes loom with longer hours, higher fines
Reporting by Earle Kimel, Sarasota Herald-Tribune / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
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