Parking meters installed on Circle

APRIL FOOLS — 

Visitors to St. Armands Circle this week may have noticed a change. The city of Sarasota began installing parking meters at one of the medians on the Circle. After 459 meters in downtown Sarasota were removed this week, the St. Armands Business Improvement District voted to buy the meters from the city.

The city paid $510,000 for the meters, and the BID purchased them for $200,000.

The BID hopes to use the money from the new St. Armands Circle parking meter program to fund a parking garage to be built adjacent to the Circle.

“You can’t have too many open parking spots,” said one BID board member.

Parking has been a main concern for Circle merchants in recent months.

The BID is now looking for merchants to participate in the Circle Parking Ambassadors Program who can help show tourists how the parking meters work.

Cost for the meters is 50 cents per hour — a 50% decrease than the Sarasota price.

“The price was right,” said the BID board member.

IN OTHER TRAFFIC NEWS ...
After a north-end planning charrette revealed that Longbeach Village residents would be interested in a traffic light at Broadway and Gulf of Mexico Drive, the Florida Department of Transportation installed a temporary traffic light at the intersection Tuesday morning. Ticket fines for not yielding to the light will be $400 for a first offense; $1,000 for a second offense.