Bradenton Beach’s paid parking efforts continue

The city’s initial paid parking program is not expected to include the parking spaces along Bridge Street.

BY JOE HENDRICKS SUN CORRESPONDENT | jhendricks@amisun.com

BRADENTON BEACH – The city is moving forward with its plan to implement a paid parking program as the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) plans to issue an RFP seeking bids from interested paid parking program equipment providers and operators.

On May 3, CRA members directed City Attorney Ricinda Perry to draft the paid parking RFP based in part on input previously provided by Mayor John Chappie, Public Works Director Tom Woodard, Police Chief John Cosby and the city commission.

Paid parking is expected to include the city-owned portion of the public parking lot off First Street North (behind the BridgeWalk resort), the public parking spaces near the cell tower, the police department headquarters and Lou Barolo park and the city hall parking lot after regular city business hours.

Paid parking is not expected to include the city-owned parking spaces alongside Bridge Street, the privately owned parking spaces along Bridge Street or the city-owned parking spaces near the Bradenton Beach Historic Pier.

CRA member Jake Spooner expressed his concern that not including the Bridge Street parking spaces in the initial paid parking program would result in Bridge Street-area employees monopolizing the remaining free parking spaces. As he’s done during past discussions, Spooner said paid parking in the city-owned Bridge Street parking would result in more of those parking spaces being available for customers who visit the Bridge Street businesses.

In response, Cosby expressed support for not including the Bridge Street spaces in the initial RFP. He encouraged the CRA members to pursue the other parking locations first and then evaluate the success of those locations before potentially including Bridge Street in the paid parking program.

During past discussions, Cosby expressed support for paid parking in part because it would create a new and additional revenue source for the city, with those revenues generated primarily by tourists and visitors rather than the city’s remaining permanent residents and taxpayers.

Easy Parking Group owner Joshua LaRose provides the CRA-funded Old Town Tram Parking shuttles. He also already provides paid parking equipment and oversight for the Chiles Hospitality group’s privately-owned paid public parking lot near the BeachHouse restaurant in Bradenton Beach, and Chiles Hospitality’s privately-owned paid public parking lot near the Sandbar restaurant in Anna Maria. Both of those paid parking lots are open to the public, including beachgoers, and are not restricted to restaurant patrons.