City Commission to vet parking meter plans

If Sarasota City commissioners move forward with plans for paid parking downtown, parking meters will make up about 11% of public spaces in the area.

City Parking Manager Mark Lyons has recommended installing 458 parking meters along  Main Street and portions of Ringling Boulevard east of U.S. 301, and will ask for commission approval to begin the purchasing process Tuesday.

“The objective for metered parking is to strive for improvement in perception and accessibility to downtown stores by affecting driver behavior so that there are several spaces open on each block face,” according to an Aug. 25 memo from Lyons to commissioners.

The city’s Parking Advisory Committee has also endorsed paid parking downtown, though the actual fee structure for the meters remained in question after an Aug. 9 meeting. In the memo, Lyons recommended a tiered rate in which drivers would be charged more for the amount of time they remained parked.

“The goal is to create that incentive to move them along,” Lyons said at the time. “You don’t want to ding them immediately. You want to make it a gradual increase, and that’s what this does.”

For example, someone could pay $1 for one hour in a metered space, but if they remained in that same spot for four hours, they would pay a total of $5.

“I’m continuing to buy; I’m continuing to have food and drink,” said Parking Advisory Committee member Chris Gallagher during the Aug. 9 meeting. “Why am I paying more?”

The concern is tied to the last effort to install paid parking downtown. In 2011, the City Commission decided to give up on the program, pulling out the meters following strong public opposition.

As with any discussion of paid parking downtown over the last half decade, opposition remains from Main Street merchants.

A survey of Sarasota Downtown Merchants Association members on the subject generated about 140 responses. From that, 89% of respondents believed parking meters would hurt business.

If the City Commission approves Lyons’ recommendations, staff will issue a request for proposals, then field test two or three qualified vendors. That process could take up to four months.

During Tuesday’s meeting, commissioners will also discuss the city’s request for an additional year of funding from county tax dollars for the Community Redevelopment Area. And City Attorney Robert Fournier also has an update on the fallout from the ruling on the Sunshine lawsuit filed against Commissioner Susan Chapman.