- November 19, 2024
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Flagler Beach has given a city parking committee the go-ahead to work out the specifics of a possible plan to implement paid parking in certain parts of the city.
“Whether you agree with paid parking or you don’t agree with paid parking, we have to look at it,” Flagler Beach Mayor Linda Provencher, who is also on the city’s Ad Hoc Parking Committee, said at a commission meeting Thursday, Feb. 27.
“And at the end of the day, it may not be right for this town,” she said. “But we don’t know until we’ve looked at it. We don’t know how much money we’re going to make, we don’t know if we're going to make any money; we don’t know what it’s going to do to business; we don’t know what it’s going to do to residents. There’s a billion questions that have to be answered, and we’re just now scratching the surface.”
At this point, the committee suggests any paid parking program begin in certain city lots and along State Road A1A, between State Road 100 and South Seventh Street, Ad Hoc Parking Committee Chairwoman Roseanne Stocker said in a presentation of the committee’s findings. Details the committee is still considering include whether paid parking might be seasonal and restricted to certain days of the week and certain times of day, and, if so, which.
“What we have determined is that there is a parking problem, and it’s based on our current capacity, and congestion,” Stocker said. “Now, those two issues are seasonal and event-driven. We don’t have a problem all the time.”
The money from paid parking should be used to maintain city beaches and provide for cleanliness, safety measures and lifeguards, she said, but the city shouldn’t eliminate all free spaces or implement paid parking too quickly.
“Our feeling is that there should be some paid parking for those who are willing to pay for the higher-demand spaces,” she said. “Paid parking should be introduced slowly, and at first limited, and perhaps expanded incrementally by zone. And we would like to see free parking for those who prefer to walk instead of paying for parking.”
The committee also recommends “relief” from paid parking for city residents through passes or a specialized program, she said, and recommends that the city add several free public lots, consider a trolley system, and, possibly, look at time restrictions on certain free parking spots. If paid parking in three city lots and the stretch of State Road A1A between State Road 100 and South Seventh Street was successful, she said, the city could consider expanding paid parking north of the Flagler Beach pier.
Commissioner Joy McGrew said she didn’t believe the city “can afford to bury our head is the sand” about the parking issue.
“We are that crown jewel," she said. "We are that prize that brings people from our county and from the five bordering counties to our beach.”
As things are, McGrew said, city residents are paying for the police protection, garbage pickup and lifeguards that are enjoyed by visitors from other areas. With paid parking, visitors would be helping to pick up the tab for services they benefit from.
“I don’t think we can afford to put this off any longer,” she said. “I definitely vote for us to move forward.”
Commission Chairman Steve Settle and other commissioners also suggested the committee move forward and research the specifics.
Stocker suggested the city hold multiple public meetings and seek comment from local residents and businesses as it works out a parking plan.
“A comprehensive parking plan has to have the support of the people,” she said. “And we just feel that if there’s proper communication about this, and lots of opportunity for our businesses to give input, for our residents to give input, that people can get behind this.”
