Winter Park addresses parking problems

The Winter Park City Commission may have a new solution to the city’s downtown parking woes: tapping into private parking held by businesses and landowners.

City Commissioners made a dent in the city’s downtown parking problem during their meeting last Monday by approving two parking projects, including the relocation of their public works building to free up 73 parking spaces in its place.

The other project will restripe 75 feet of New York Avenue at Morse Boulevard to create five new spaces.

In just one month, the city has nearly reached its goal of creating 100 spots in a 12-month period, an objective set in place after a parking study earlier this year showed the city was 237 spaces short on weekdays and 280 spaces short on weekends.

“I hope city staff have heard from our conversation that we’ve got to get to the 275 number,” Mayor Ken Bradley said. “It’s probably something more than that.”

“I think we would be deceiving ourselves if we don’t think there’s a parking problem in downtown Winter Park.”

But another potential project may create more spaces at the cost of certain merchants along the Avenue. Winter Park resident Sally Flynn addressed the Commission for resident Vicki Krueger and suggested that businesses share their private parking spaces for the greater good of the downtown area, noting that some spaces aren’t being used as often as they could be.

The option intrigued the City Commission, particularly Mayor Bradley.

“I think that’s an ‘amen to that,’” Bradley said.

“Anybody that has private parking in the downtown corridor, we need to look at how that’s being utilized.”

Business owners stressed that the parking problem needs to be addressed to bring in more foot traffic to the Avenue, especially during the crucial holiday season.

“Talk to people who are trying to shop; they can’t find parking,” said Peterbrooke Chocolatier co-owner Kevin Wray. “…We actually offer curbside service; we’re running things out to people’s cars.”

“From November to December, that’s our most critical time of the year to make our sales and pay for those slower summer months. To have parking around those times is just critical.”

Commissioner Carolyn Cooper saw more opportunity to free up spaces by using the municipal Blake Yard and the Swoope Water Treatment Plant parking lot, paved areas that would be ready for use in a matter of days at no cost to the city.

City employees and merchants volunteering to use the lots would free up that much more space along Park Avenue for customers, Cooper said.

“If we have places that we can make available free of charge to the employees on the Avenue and the city employees – those who might be willing to go and voluntarily park there – I think we could have something that would work for everyone,” Cooper said. “We’re all in this together, we all want the merchants to be successful.”

But one potential project that came one vote away from passing had residents up in arms: a proposal to pave over a portion of the West Meadow to add 12 new parking spaces.

“It took us a while to get that green space,” Winter Park resident Marti Miller said. “If you change it back to 14 spaces today, then it will be 24 spaces next year, then it will be 36 spaces. It will only grow and we will lose our West Meadow once again.”

“Leave that green space alone.”

City Commissioners chose to abandon the project after discussing it further.

“I don’t see why we would want all of this upheaval for 12 spots,” Deputy Mayor Sarah Sprinkel said.

The city plans to have the 73 parking spots from public works building project ready in time for the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival in March 2014.

City Commissioners will further discuss private parking, the Blake Yard and the Swoope Water Treatment Plant parking lot at a future meeting.