Changes may be coming to a parking space near you

BY PRU SOWERS

KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER

The Parking and Alternative Transportation Group was assigned a huge job when it was formed last August and given only six months to recommend solutions to traffic congestion and the lack of available parking; two issues that have bedeviled Key West almost since it became a tourist destination decades ago.

But the group, which was slated to dissolve June 4 but has asked for a 60-day extension, has produced no less than 25 recommendations ranging from new delivery truck routes, adding more residential parking, better enforcement, pursuing alternate and sustainable modes of transport, purchasing more bike racks, and reducing the 30-minute unloading zones outside guest houses to 15 minutes, with those spaces transforming into residential parking from 8 pm-8 am. They also voted to recommend that the current $3 an hour parking rate – higher in some areas – increase to $4 an hour across the board.

City Commissioners will have the final say on which, if any, recommendations they want to put into action. And some of the proposed recommendations are likely to produce culture shock to some residents and tourists alike.

One proposal that group members said had promise but which they eventually voted down, would have created residential parking zones in neighborhoods north of Truman Avenue and east of White Street with a two-permit residential parking system. One permit would allow any resident with a permit to park in the zone from 6 am-6 pm. But after 6 pm, only people living in the zone would be allowed to park on those streets and would need a second purchased residential parking permit to do so. The proposal was made by group member Dana Day, who said the idea would address the frequent complaints from Old Town residents who cannot find a parking space on their street.

“We have to start somewhere,” Day said about the difficulty for residents to find space. “Let’s give it a try and work out the details.”

But her colleagues were skeptical that such a significant change in the current parking regulations could be hashed out in the short time left before the group dissolves. Members Eric Detwiler and Greg Davila were interested but ultimately voted against Day’s proposal.

“It’s a radical concept for us,” Detwiler said. “If we were starting from scratch today and we didn’t have a plan, we should certainly go with this one. But we’re not.”

“We all live in this town. We all pay our taxes,” said group member Wally Moore. “If you live here in Key West, you should be able to park wherever you want.”

Detwiler introduced his own proposal to boost the number of residential-only parking spaces in Old Town. He recommended increasing the number of residential spaces in that 16-block area from 1,074, or 57 percent, to 1,202, 64 percent, with at least 50 percent of the spaces per block reserved for residents. And 75 percent of the spaces per block would be residential-only in a two-block radius around city-owned parking lots in Old Town. By forcing non-residents to use paid parking lots, traffic congestion in residential areas would decrease, he said.

“If that free parking is not available, they [non-residents] are not going to have a choice except either not drive or go back and use the paid parking. Again, this doesn’t impact Key West residents. It’s only impacting people who do not have a residential parking permit,” Detwiler said.

Another advantage of his plan, Detwiler added, is that reducing free street parking would result in more parking revenue for the city.

“It’s tough to say. But I would say we’re looking somewhere between $200,000 and $500,000 if we think that half of those people are going to go find paid parking instead of parking for free on our streets,” he said.

The group passed Detwiler’s proposal by a 4-1 vote. It and the other recommendations will go before the city commission for consideration in June.

Parking revenue totaled $7.2 million in the last fiscal year. Key West Parking Director John Wilkins estimates that 85 percent of that figure is paid by tourists.

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