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Ybor City Parking Meter-Free For Month

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By KATHY STEELE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 30, 2007

TAMPA - For the holiday season, the city is offering a little free parking.

Effective Saturday and ending Dec. 31, parking meter fees in Ybor City are suspended, an estimated $21,000 hit to city coffers.
Mayor Pam Iorio issued the order Thursday, one day after about a dozen business owners at a retail committee meeting said parking tickets are a major reason people don't shop in Ybor.

There were reports of broken meters and customers who spent $100 in a store only to return to a car tagged with a $35 parking ticket.

Robert Volini said he and his wife amassed about $400 in parking tickets while setting up their Seventh Avenue restaurant, Raw, which opened about two months ago.

"This is never going to work the way it is," he said at Wednesday's meeting. "The parking is a joke."

The committee recommended the city consider free parking for at least two months. Some wanted a yearlong trial.

"We need help right now," Ybor resident and committee chairman Joe Howden said.

"We'll keep an open mind," Iorio said Thursday of a longer suspension.

The city, which recently announced a second round of layoffs, will continue to face tough budget choices, she said.

"All of this has a financial impact on our parking fees," Iorio said. "It's an enterprise fund and it's not in the best financial shape."

There are also concerns that free street parking will mean fewer people paying to use city garages, and Iorio said metered parking cannot be ended without a plan to deal with parking by Ybor's business employees.

There are 202 coin meters in Ybor, officials said. About 200 additional on-street spaces are controlled by signs that offer two hours of free parking, reserve spaces for police and freight or are no-parking spaces.

The change will not affect fees at the Centro Ybor Garage on Fifth Avenue and the Fernando Noriega Garage on Palm Avenue, each with about 1,200 spaces.

"It's a good olive branch to give to the merchants," said Tony LaColla, president of the Historic Ybor Neighborhood Civic Association.

It shows the city is willing to listen to business owners and find ways to make Ybor successful, he said.

Don Barco, co-owner of King Corona Cigars on Seventh, is encouraged.

"This is a good first step," he said. "A lot of these problems have been going on for years. There's a sense of urgency. We want to work together."

Reporter Kathy Steele can be reached at (813) 835-2103 or ksteele@tampatrib.com.

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