Thomas Street Parking Lot To Remain Free

By Pru Sowers

Konk Life Staff Writer

Chalk one up for the little guy.

A flurry of complaints from resident car owners convinced Key West City Commissioners to keep the parking lot behind the Monroe County Courthouse on Thomas Street free at night. City officials had already installed two of three planned parking pay stations in the area and were set to begin charging drivers $2 an hour beginning in early December.

Currently, the lot is used strictly by courthouse employees from 7 am to 5:30 pm Monday to Friday. After hours and on weekends, however, it offers 137 free parking spots for locals in the know and, increasingly, tourists.

After a survey by city parking officials that showed approximately 60 percent of the spots on average were being used at night by tourists, city Parking Manager John Wilkins proposed the pay-to-park plan, estimating it would raise $200,000 a year in new revenue. That started an avalanche of complaints from local residents, who already pay $10 a year for a permit allowing them to park in “resident only” parking spaces around town.

Commissioner Sam Kaufman originally supported allowing the $10 a year permits to park for free in the Thomas Street lot.

“But after hearing so many people say that they want the lot to remain the same, I think the better motion is to keep it without any permitting fees,” he said.

He was backed up by one local resident, Tom Malone, who spoke at the Nov. 17 city commission meeting.

“I have observed in the 14 years I’ve been here how hard it is for working class people to live in this community. And parking is an expense and can run into a lot of money,” he said.

Mayor Craig Cates asked Wilkins to develop a plan to let locals park for free in the lot but would charge tourists the $2 an hour fee.

“If they can’t separate that, then I’d rather leave it like it is,” he said.

“Let’s give back something to the taxpayers of this town,” agreed Commissioner Billy Wardlow.

Commissioner Margaret Romero was the lone vote against keeping the free parking.

“When we have an opportunity for revenue, that’s always a good thing because that offsets actual taxes paid on our real estate… to run the city,” she said.

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