T.S. Strickland

Staff Writer

UPDATE 9:22 p.m.: Clarification: The Downtown Improvement Board decided to extend Saturday enforcement only to the free, two-hour parking along Palafox. Paid parking in other areas of the city will remain unenforced on the weekends.

ORIGINAL STORY:

The Pensacola Downtown Improvement Board on Tuesday approved a set of changes to the city's parking regulations, with the goal of increasing revenue and freeing up more spaces for visitors along Palafox Place.

The changes, approved unanimously, included extending paid parking and enforcement to Saturdays, extending weekday enforcement hours from 5 to 7 p.m., adding paid parking on side streets and cracking down on downtown workers who jump from space to space during the day to avoid fines.

Board Chairman John Peacock said the DIB would not implement all of the changes at once, though he anticipated moving forward with the bulk of them by year's end.

Board Member Terri Levin said the DIB would launch a public education program before that happened.

"The public will be educated on this," she said. "It wont just be a surprise to them."

Several of the strategies in the plan — including increased fines for repeat offenders, stronger towing ordinances and penalties for parking space-jumpers — also will require action by the Pensacola City Council before moving forward.

DIB spokeswoman Jane Birdwell stressed that the plan, as a whole, had been "stakeholder driven."

Peacock said the changes had originated with complaints from business owners, especially those in the SoGo district — the area of Palafox south of Government Street.

He added that the increased revenue the DIB hoped to reap was badly needed to fund downtown beautification projects — things like lighting, signage and sidewalk improvements.

As it is, the DIB's parking enforcement program barely breaks even most years.

"We're not trying to get rich," Peacock said. "We're just trying to make some infrastructure improvements that are needed so we can keep growing our community. Trash cans, sidewalk cleanup. All those things cost dollars."