ST. PETERSBURG — City officials withdrew a proposal to increase parking enforcement hours downtown late Thursday, after angry residents and business owners inundated City Hall with e-mails and phone calls.
Mayor Rick Baker's staff interrupted a City Council meeting Thursday to announce that it would not move forward with the plan, which would have required visitors who currently don't have to pay after 6 p.m. or on weekends to keep plugging in quarters until 10 p.m.
"There wasn't any support for it," said Joe Kubicki, the city's transportation director.
The abrupt surrender surprised business leaders and residents; some had received e-mails from city officials defending the change up until about noon Thursday.
"It's a victory for downtown," said Kevin Lilly, a nightclub and restaurant promoter who had quickly organized an e-mail campaign against the plan this week. In three days, Lilly received hundreds of e-mails from residents and downtown visitors opposed to the proposed expanded parking enforcement hours.
"The community really came through," Lilly said.
Transportation officials had pitched the change as a solution to a confusing array of meter enforcement times downtown, where some meters are policed from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and others until 8 p.m., while a handful demand your change until 11 p.m. Hours vary from street to street.
Under the proposed change, all meters would have been policed from 9 a.m. until 10 p.m. seven days a week, starting later this month.
But feedback from the community was mostly negative, said Kubicki, and the plan was quickly dropped.
That means enforcement hours for the 500 parking meters near Central Avenue will remain unchanged.
Most are free on the weekends and after 6 p.m. on weekdays, affording revelers, visitors and couples looking for a night out on the town an easy transportation solution.
Cristina Silva can be reached at (727) 893-8846 or csilva@sptimes.com.
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