Higher rates, valet parking? Sarasota weighs fixes for parking woes

Just days after an open house on the city’s parking woes sparked a walkout and protest, the Sarasota City Commission was at it again on Monday with another workshop to discuss the issue.

This time, residents were allowed to speak.

For months, Sarasota officials have tried to find a way for the parking division to remain a self-sufficient enterprise fund. They extended parking hours earlier in the summer to bolster revenue, then paused the proposal weeks later after widespread backlash.

On Monday, the City Commission signaled it will not pursue any substantive changes until after the November elections, when at least one new commissioner is sworn into office.

The meeting this week was not nearly as charged as Thursday’s parking open house, but six Sarasota Police Department officers were stationed inside and outside the meeting chambers just in case.

Instead, officials discussed options for fixing the parking division’s projected shortfall of about $2.6 million by 2028, amid major planned projects like replacing the elevators at the State Street and Palm Avenue garages, new directional signage, license plate recognition devices and four vehicles for parking enforcement.

Among the ideas that drew interest Monday were a 50-cent increase in hourly rates, a valet service and a business-parking-validation program.

Here’s a breakdown of some of the options city officials presented to commissioners that could make the division self-sustaining:

Free Parking

City staff made it emphatically clear they do not think making parking free — as it was seven years ago — is a good idea.

But if commissioners wanted to revert, one option they floated was a special taxing district for city merchants. Each of the 1,522 businesses within the district would pay $506.63 a month for their customers to have free parking to help the city to offset maintenance costs.

The city also could raise its tax rate to support free parking — but it would need a 15.6% increase to stay sustainable.

“There is no such thing as free parking,” City Manager Karie Friling said. “Parking garages have to be built and maintained. Streets and parking spaces have to be maintained. Technology and enforcement and personnel and operations all have a cost attributed to them. If the person using a parking space does not pay for those costs, the costs do not disappear. They are simply paid from another source.”

Increased Rates

Commissioner Kyle Battie said he supports raising the existing hourly rate by 50 cents — to $2 an hour — rather than charging for parking during additional hours.

The rate hike would bolster parking revenues at the street-level, garage and surface spots by more than $1.8 million a year.

“I say 50 cents because it makes an even $2 and kills a number of birds with one stone,” Battie said.

Valet Parking

Philip Deveau, the city’s interim parking general manager, said a valet service could improve customer convenience for those trying to eat or shop at the most frequented parts of the city.

The program also could be more appealing to drivers as the city works to replace the elevators at its downtown parking garages.

“We have considered the valet parking for a number of years now, either a centralized location downtown that would bring them then utilize our garages as the lots to store them, versus just allowing our garages to be the storage area for private valet services,” Deveau said.

Selling the parking garages

Sarasota is planning to spend $1.5 million to replace the elevators at its State Street and Palm Avenue garages, along with another $460,000 on garage signage. All this while it still owes at least $12.1 million for the St. Armands garage.

Selling off the garage to private vendors would give the parking division an infusion of cash and offload much of its maintenance, but that could also come at a steep cost to residents. 

Planning Director Steve Cover noted that a private operator of a parking garage could raise rates. The presentation noted that any sale contracts must “protect rates, service standards and public access” to the garages.

Parking Permits

A parking permit program for those who work downtown and on St. Armands would provide designated spots in garages and on surface lots. Many business owners complained about a lack of parking for their employees.

The potential costs for such permits were not discussed. That would involve more organization and enforcement by the city.

Business Validation Program

Deveau said a program for businesses to validate the parking of their customers has been considered for a number of years, but the city’s current pay stations have no ability to scan tickets.

“We have a system that we’re looking into now to get more information from a vendor that we currently use that has that option,” Deveau said. “We are looking into that pretty thoroughly right now.”

It would also assume buy-in from enough Sarasota businesses to make the program worthwhile.

The city manager mentioned the validation program as an avenue staff is pursuing, and Commissioner Liz Alpert mentioned validations as one idea she favored.

Expanded Pay Stations

It’s an uphill battle to rally popular support for parking meters, but parking officials stressed that they are necessary for their revenue. The city is planning to replace 104 of them at a cost of $650,000.

“If you eliminate the pay stations, the 104 pay stations, that’s eliminating a tremendous amount of revenue,” Planning Director Steve Cover said. “And the reason these are being replaced is one, they’re reaching their point where they probably need to be changed.”

Cover said the revenues from those meters “far exceed” the cost of replacing them.

Improved Parking Wayfinding

Sarasota has a total of 9,527 parking spaces, including 4,178 in public lots, more than 3,500 on the street and another 1,841 in garages. 

One issue raised was that existing city parking, especially the parking garages, is underused. More abundant and clearer signage, or even direction from parking ambassadors in the field, could improve community awareness of parking options.

More signage informing drivers about the city’s citation protocol could also preempt the anger that comes with finding a white slip underneath one’s windowshield wiper, staff noted.

Contributions From Developers

The same way that new real estate developments contribute to the costs of their own infrastructure needs through impact and mobility fees, Sarasota could institute a program for them to help pay for more parking. 

The program could not be implemented until October 2027 due to Senate Bill 180 — a Florida law that prohibits “burdensome” regulations on development after a hurricane.

Christian Casale covers government and politics for Suncoast Searchlight. Email him at christian@suncoastsearchlight.org.