Gainesville, Florida Downtown: Farewell Free Parking

parking ticketPhoto byCaspar RaeonUnsplash

Gainesville has announced it will follow the example of other municipalities an make parking for their downtown streets metered pay to park. City commissioners approved raising parking rates during yesterday’s city commission meeting.

Starting this August, the free parking will now be .50 cents per hour and will be limited to two hours on weekdays. Parking in other areas could remain free in some spots, or cost .25 cents per hour, depending on where it is.

The hourly and maximum rates at the SW Parking Garage, however, will be lowered from $5/day to $4/day as the maximum, while the hourly parking rate will decrease from $1/hr to $0.50/hr.

There was not estimate on the cost of the new meters, along with the addional man hours for enforcement. The new parking restrictions are expected to make about a quarter of a million dollars per year. It does not mention whether that includes parking fines. A one month grace period is intended to get people used to the new regulations.