Merchants upset over bagged parking signs

They say some business owners are taking advantage of suspended time limits.

By BRIDGET HALL

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 18, 2000

INVERNESS -- How bad is the parking problem downtown?

So bad, investment consultant Scott Lee told the City Council Tuesday night, that he has gone up to business owners who park in the prime spaces and offered them $10 to move their cars so a customer can park there.

"Every day I see the same business owners park in front of Coach's, Stumpknockers and Subway who wouldn't otherwise be there," said Lee, who gets a clear view of it all from his office at Edward Jones investments.

"It's just open season on parking right now," said Andrea Perry, co-owner of Ritzy Rags and Glitzy Jewels.

With the two-hour parking signs along the downtown strip shrouded in black plastic bags, there is no time limit on how long cars can occupy spaces closest to the stores.

The merchants said a few selfish business owners and employees use the spaces for themselves all day, taking up precious parking that is intended for customers.

City officials decided not to enforce time limits downtown for a month while the Main Street lot remained closed for a decontamination project.

The idea was to give drivers a break from worrying about getting a parking ticket during a time when parking was already tight, City Manager Frank DiGiovanni said.

"We are not sending a good message to the people that we bring to the downtown area when we're playing "gotcha' with them," he said.

The bags went on the signs April 24 and will come off in about a week and a half, when the Main Street lot reopens.

Merchants pleaded with the city to remove the bags immediately, but city officials refused, saying it is up to the business owners and merchants to behave themselves.

"The old days of parking right in front of where you're going are over," council member John Sullivan said. "You have to park at least a minute away."

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