Downtown Tavares parking is so bad, businesses are asking the City to fix it

Tavares, FL   Apr. 3, 2015

Parking in downtown Tavares, FL is so bad that Orlando's ABC affiliate Channel 9 posted a video report.   

http://www.wftv.com/videos/news/tavares-residents-want-the-city-to-fix-parking/vDMyPR/     

Myrt's Channel 9 report caught part of the issue, but skipped the problem where Lake County government employees are using up some of the spaces.  The parking garage was justified by saying government employees would use it, but not all do, AND the entire first floor is set aside not for taxpayers, but police and disabled, and most of those spots are vacant.  

Why should taxpayers be expected to drive up three levels rather than employees?  

Finally, many spaces are taken by jury members.  They should be asked to park on the upper levels and not take over the lower floors.    The entire first floor, as well as parking spots on the street should have posted time limits like 2-4 hours.   Otherwise, people with short, legitimate needs to visit the County, like paying a Tax Collector bill or getting a building permit can't find parking, and they are "customers" who should have priority on parking.     

The blue Mustang is parked on Main St. every day.

This picture is of a blue Mustang that is parked out on Main St. every day, and is possibly owned by a manager in one of the County or Constitutional officers offices.

 

The parking problem for short term visitors to the Property Assessors' office is so bad he (Carey Baker) put signs out front saying "Government customers only" because the City of Tavares has not enacted any time limits on Main St. parking for short term users.  

 

We noted recently that a space dedicated to electric cars in front of the County Assessor's office has been repurposed as general street parking, which is a good start.

So, here is what needs to be done:

1) the City needs to set short term limits on street parking,  Take responsibility for the parking problems encountered by the public.

2) ALL the county employees, including Court & Constitutional office staff, need to park in the parking garage,

3) the spaces on the first floor need to be set with short term limits while long term parkers like employees and jury members need to park higher in the building, 

4) the many empty spaces that are designated for disabled need to be reduced to fit demand,

5) the courtesy spaces for visiting police right at the entrance of the parking garage needs to be repurposed for the public,

6) Local businesses need to decide if customer parking availability is more important than their employees using up nearby parking, and have them park at the garage or out of downtown.  Any parking by local employees in public parking spaces removes space for customers.

 

7) Local officials running for office should be instructed not to have employees or supporters parking their vehicles all day in front of the County Administration building with signs like Emogene Stegall did in the last election cycle.  They took up 6-8 spots every day across from the building.

 

8) These issues apply not only to Main Street, but to Ruby Street which runs parallel to it by Wooton Park, plus the side streets.

 

9) The City of Tavares could buy or lease some more land and allow parking there, but the City Planner at a recent meeting said he didn't want to do that, but instead follow the long term City master plan.   The problem is that the long term plan was created by followers of Agenda 21, a Federal government plan to reduce vehicle use in downtowns to force people to use mass transit.   That doesn't help current businesses and customers.    

 

10) Added Apr. 16, 2015 - Effect on parkng of City's long term plan - At a recent meeting of the City of Tavares City Council, a discussion on parking was held and the subject of buying a nearby vacant lot to provide more parking came up.  The city planner objected, saying they should follow the long term city plan.  If parking is not sufficient for business and government customers, that is not a good answer.  The plan was designed in my opinion to make downtown more "walkable" by reducing parking spaces and implementing "traffic calming" features which delay trips through town.  That comes from the direction of the American Planner's Association.  When was a referendum held where citizens voted for higher density and reduced parking?  Is there a study of prior street parking capacity vs current street parking after the downtown streets were restructured?  The ability for downtown businesses to entice customer visits depends on adequate, nearby parking, and every option should be reviewed, including vacant land to provide parking.

 

11.  (New April 15, 2015) - A parking inventory of existing parking, and one of street parking for existing downtown businesses is needed, if it does not exist.  Each time a new business opens, it generates a need for parking, and parking industry standards should be developed to identify parking capacity shortages. Assume that no business customer will park in the parking garage. 

 

Voters who find Tavares downtown parking a pain should express their opinions to City, County and Constititional officials about solutions. Representatives from Tavares, the County Manager, local businesses and ALL Constitutional officers should hold a public meeting and hearing to develop a plan of action to expand short term parking for the public. You won't find a large employer like Target allowing employees to take the best spots, and local government should implement the same practices to support citizens visiting businesses and government offices.

 

As for me, I use an offsite space that is off the main streets, so this issue doesn't really affect me.