by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
No one would have predicted it and if the odds makers in Las Vegas had known about it, it might have been the long-shot of the year.
During a meeting Tuesday with a group of Downtown business owners, representatives from the Main Library and the Jacksonville Museum of Modern Art and City Council member Suzanne Jenkins, Ron Barton, executive director of the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission, got a round of applause.
The merchants called for the meeting to discuss their concerns about parking and what they described as, “punitive enforcement,” of the ordinances governing on-street metered spaces.
The merchants all agreed that parking is their biggest issue when it comes to their customers and being able to effectively run their businesses.
“Downtown has to compete with 5 Points and San Marco for businesses,” said Stephen Dare, owner of Boomtown on Monroe Street. “How can we create retail when we punish customers? As merchants, we have to bring people Downtown from the suburbs, but those people are paying a $20 tax every time they get a parking ticket. Parking Enforcement shouldn’t be the most profitable business Downtown.”
It was also pointed out that many tickets are written for violations in designated loading zones.
Troy Spurlin, director of special events and marketing at JMOMA, pointed out that the museum staff is constantly ticketed in the loading zone and said, “I’m not sure why parking enforcement is so militant, even in the loading zone.”
Vikki Wilkins owns the UPS Store on Hogan Street near Hemming Plaza. She agreed that the lack of loading zones around the plaza is a problem.
“Our customers with packages can’t park blocks away. We need a loading zone on Monroe Street,” she said.
Despite the Downtown location surrounded by hundreds of businesses and people with shipping needs, Wilkins said she believes the parking situation is adversely affecting her profitability.
“We’re in our third year and out of 41 UPS Stores in Jacksonville, we are the lowest,” said Wilkins. “We need help.”
Suzanne Marino, owner of Shugar Shack Chocolatier and president of Pioneers4Jax — a Downtown advocacy group — said she thinks the City pays more attention to the needs of commercial developers than small business. Solving parking issues would be a way to, “Take the focus off the skyline and put it on the sidewalk,” she said.
After listening and taking notes for an hour and 15 minutes, Barton explained that he was not going to, “wing any answers.”
The applause broke out when he said, “I completely agree that we need to address these issues as quickly as we can. No one believes in urgency more than I do. The areas the JEDC attacks, we attack with urgency. We’re all about action, not planning – even though we believe in good planning.”
Barton also said the City is contemplating moving Parking Enforcement out of the Administration and Finance Department and making it part of the JEDC’s responsibility. He pointed out that as long as the enforcement effort is part of Administration and Finance, “The purpose is to make money. The JEDC’s purpose is to make Downtown work.”
Barton then added, “When you measure people’s performance by the number of tickets issued, that’s how they’ll act. The first thing I want to work on is attitude. There’s no reason to have a hostile attitude. I see it (Parking Enforcement) as an adjunct to the Downtown Ambassador program.”
Barton said he thinks it may be wise to invest in new technology like parking meters that can be adjusted for changes in demand.
“It would be expensive to get new meters, but it’s probably worth it to have meters that we could change as the market changes,” he said. “Each block has a different personality. Our present system doesn’t do a good job. The current meter time is adequate for one business, but it’s not adequate to do business. Longer meter times allow people to explore Downtown.”
Barton also said he’s in favor of finding creative solutions that won’t require rewriting the parking laws and can be used to bring people Downtown for cultural and special events. Possibilities include stopping meter enforcement at 3 p.m. for the First Wednesday Art Walk and earlier than 6 p.m. on Tuesdays for City Council meetings.
“A lot of times, you don’t have to change the laws, you just have to change the way you operate,” said Barton.