by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
City public parking management will remain crowded at the top, but coming changes will allow the assorted managers to work together to solve downtown’s parking problems, the Downtown Development Authority’s managing director said this week.
After presenting those problems to Mayor John Peyton, DDA director Al Battle will work with Jacksonville Economic Development Commission director Kirk Wendland, DDA chair Bob Rhodes and parking consultant Mark Rimmer to evaluate public parking’s shortfalls and recommend organizational changes to correct them.
The City’s problems are well known to downtown developers, business owners and commuters: a lack of on-street parking, meter rates and fines too low to keep spaces open and disjointed management.
Battle said management issues could be the most important to resolve. Without coordinated oversight, Battle said it would be difficult to implement the other changes.
“If you fix those other things and don’t mess with management you’re probably only half-attacking the problem,” said Battle. “We are really going to look at the organizational set-up and try to get a sense of how all of the players can work collectively.”
Battle described the current management as convoluted. City parking is alternatively managed by the Public Parking Division, JEA, Jacksonville Transportation Authority, SMG and private interests. A Downtown Vision, Inc., study said the structure prevents the City from developing a strategy and, in-turn, keeps the cost of downtown parking below market rates, costs the City money and ultimately deters people from coming downtown.
A separate DVI study found parking to be the No. 1 problem in attracting and maintaining businesses downtown. In response to those findings, DDA board member David Auchter recommended at a parking workshop the creation of a parking authority to “take ownership of the problem.
“All these problems are symptoms of the same disease,” said Auchter. “That’s management. We need a stalwart; somebody that’s going to fight for this [improved parking].”
Battle said his parking task force was not considering the creation of a parking authority. He said the current managers would remain in place, but steps would be recommended to allow them to work better together. Mayor’s office spokesperson Heather Murphy said a parking authority would amount to an unnecessary “growing of the government.
“The DDA has demonstrated an ability to handle this issue and the mayor has confidence in them to continue to do so,” said Murphy.
The mayor believes downtown’s primary parking shortfall is felt on the street. A lack of on-street parking prevents walk-up business to downtown restaurants and retail. Murphy said the mayor will rely on planned garages to ease the problem.
However, Terry Parker, who oversees more than 1,200 spaces downtown as property manager for the One Enterprise Center and others, said current mismanagement was the largest problem facing downtown parking.
“In reality there is parking downtown, it’s just run ineffectively,” said Parker. “We’re pretty close to being adequate in some areas; it just boils down to the way the current infrastructure is handled.”
Parker said it was “very encouraging” that the City was looking at changes to its parking management. He said it wouldn’t be difficult to get all the managers on the same page. Everybody benefits from better parking downtown he said.
Battle sounded a similarly optimistic note. He has found “near unanimity,” among the managers that better organization was needed.
“Parking is vital both for City custodians and people who do business downtown,” said Battle.”