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City of Sarasota parking garages to go 'gateless'

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Published  June 6, 2025 4:13pm EDT
Sarasota
FOX 13 News
Sarasota launching gateless parking garage system

Sarasota launching gateless parking garage system

Kimberly Kuizon reports.

The Brief

    • The City of Sarasota's  parking general manager said the gateless system will help keep traffic moving and stop backups in the garage.
    • Parking fees will remain the same.
    • Residents and visitors will be able to use ParkMobile or Passport apps to park. A pay station for credit cards or coins will be available on site.

SARASOTA, Fla. - Changes are coming to Sarasota's parking garages with some new technology. City officials are hoping it makes parking much smoother for residents and visitors. 

Why you should care:

It's easy to get stuck behind a car in a parking garage while the driver in front is looking for their ticket or money to pay. It happens to everyone, including Jamey Citrone. 

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"It just took a little bit longer to get out. Let’s just say they didn’t put the ticket in correctly the first few times, and we just waited," he said. 

The City of Sarasota wants to stop that from happening, and to do that they’ll soon be going gateless. 

"It would make it much easier to get in and out and quicker and more efficient. I’m all for it," said Citrone. 

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Broxton Harvey, the City of Sarasota’s general manager of parking, said traffic can back up during peak times in their garages. With no gates, Broxton said it’ll be a much smoother trip for everyone. 

"Now it’s going to be free-flowing. It will be a seamless transition from the street to inside the parking garage," he said. 

What we know:

The gates will be removed from all three city parking garages, which include the ones on Palm Avenue, State Street and St. Armands. There will also be a few different ways to pay. 

"Parking rates will not change. They will stay exactly the same as they currently are today," said Harvey. "What will change is how you pay. You will be able to utilize the same exact technology on the street, now will be inside of the garage. [For] example, we will have ParkMobile app that we have on the street. We will be bringing a new app, which is Passport, and for people who don’t want to utilize the app, text to pay or use the QR code, we will have an option that they can walk up to a pay station and use a physical credit card as well."

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The changes will take place on Tuesday, June 17, and you will have 15 minutes to pay. If you don't pay within that timeframe, you'll receive a parking citation. 

Parking enforcement will also be extended to operate from 7:30 a.m. until each garage closes. The current hours of operation are as follows:

  • Palm Avenue Garage, located at 1289 North Palm Avenue – 7 a.m. to midnight Monday-Thursday and 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday-Saturday.
  • State Street Garage, located at 1538 State Street –  7 a.m. to midnight Monday-Thursday and 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday-Saturday.
  • St. Armands Garage, located at 57 North Adams Drive – 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 8 a.m. to midnight Friday-Saturday.

What's next:

Eventually, the City of Sarasota will install cameras at the entrance and exit to monitor license plates. 

The Source: Information was gathered by FOX 13’s Kimberly Kuizon through the City of Sarasota. 

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