by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
Initial talks with the Downtown Development Authority indicate the Peyton Administration wants to help cure downtown’s parking ills, the DDA’s senior director said Thursday.
Al Battle said Mayor John Peyton’s chief of staff, Scott Teagle, was interested in what role the administration could play to help parking keep pace with downtown development. Teagle “walked away wanting to hear more,” said Battle.
Future talks with the administration will include Battle, DDA chair Bob Rhodes, Jacksonville Economic Development Commission executive director Kirk Wendland and representatives from Downtown Vision, Inc., whose parking committee recently reported a 3,000-space downtown shortfall.
Battle said the administration could help streamline parking oversight. That might include bringing several agencies and departments under one umbrella organization.
“We need them [the administration] to be an advocate for parking solutions,” said Battle. “Both by pushing buttons administratively and possibly helping make legislative changes that some of these solutions might require. Getting their blessing on some of these things allows us to continue investing the resources necessary.”
Battle said a 2003 DVI parking progress report would provide much of the framework for ongoing discussions. That report identifies a lack of parking as “the No. 1 issue” in downtown’s ability to attract new businesses and keep existing ones. The report blamed the City’s current piecemeal administrative parking structure for a lack of a cohesive parking strategy.
Public Parking currently manages City-owned parking facilities and enforcement of meters, loading zones and disabled parking. However, Public Parking has no authority over the City’s sports complex spaces or the Osborn Center; both are managed by SMG. The two exercise joint oversight of the sports complex’s trolley lot.
Additionally, at any given time, the City cedes control of a portion of its spaces to downtown developers. A majority of spaces on the fringes of downtown are owned and operated by the Jacksonville Transportation Authority. Battle said re-aligning management could be a large first step toward fixing downtown parking.
“That’s seems to be the fundamental question; Who manages downtown parking?,” said Battle. “We may want to put parking under an umbrella organization dedicated to solving the problem holistically.”
Battle’s comments echo DVI’s recommendation to create a single oversight position to coordinate management. DVI’s report said streamlined management could result in more consistent policies, better customer service and increased income and savings. During an August DDA meeting, several board members advocated the creation of a parking authority.
The DDA’s work with the administration will coincide with the City Council’s own review of parking policies. Battle said their initial review will likely focus on the current structure and ways to improve it. He said the DDA would be available to assist.
Substantial change to City parking will likely require Council help. The DVI report said Council’s required approval for changes to parking rates and fine structure kept prices artificially below market value. The $5 fines doled out by the City for parking violations is cheaper than most private rates downtown, meaning it’s cheaper to leave a car in front of an expired meter than to use a lot.
What effectively amounts to City-subsidized parking discourages private investment in parking, discourages the use of public transit and does not allow the City’s rates to respond quickly to changes in the market according to the report.