Sarasota expands paid parking hours, adds Sunday enforcement and raises ticket fines

SARASOTA, Fla. - Starting Monday, June 29, drivers in the city of Sarasota will need to keep a closer eye on the parking meters. The city has officially extended its paid parking hours and increased citation fines by $5, a move aimed at making the parking division entirely self-sustainable.

Sarasota paid parking hours

What we know:

Under the newly implemented rules, parking restrictions will now stretch across the entire week. On-street paid parking hours are set from 8 a.m. to midnight, Monday through Saturday. For parking garages, enforcement will run 24 hours a day, Monday through Saturday.

Sundays are no longer exempt.  Paid parking for both on-street spaces and city garages will begin at 1 p.m.

Infrastructure and meter upgrades

Dig deeper:

According to Broxton Harvey, general manager for the city of Sarasota’s Parking Division, the expansion of hours was chosen as an alternative to directly increasing parking rates.

"We are definitely not looking to hurt anyone’s pockets when they come park in the city of Sarasota," Harvey said.

The additional 16 hours a week of paid parking is projected to generate up to $2.72 million a year. This revenue will allow the parking division to cover its own capital expenditures and avoid tapping into the city’s general fund, keeping taxpayer dollars secure.

According to officials, the revenue is heavily needed to fund major upgrades, including:

• Replacing elevators in city parking garages.
• Replacing all on-street parking meters with the latest technology.
• Updating street enforcement vehicles.
• Implementing new wayfinding signage to better direct drivers to available garage spaces.

Eventually, the extra revenue could also help fund the city's "Bay Runner" transit service.

Downtown business pushback

The other side:

Despite the city's infrastructure goals, the decision has met pushback from critics who worry about the economic impact on the downtown area. Naysayers argue that the extended hours will deter people from visiting the area and ultimately decrease business revenue.

"It makes downtown less inviting and less accessible," one opponent said. "At the very time you were trying to attract people."

Sarasota