WINTER PARK, Fla. – Park Avenue is a popular spot that draws many to Winter Park. Since it’s such a hot spot, parking can be a pain.
“There’s not many so you have to go around a few times to find one that’s available,” said Tanja Hessner.
Hessner, who comes to Park Avenue frequently, said she normally has to park near the train station or a different street and walk to the area.
“Mostly we try to do it near the streets because we have three small kids. It’s not always possible to do it but we try,” said Hessner.
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On Thursday, Winter Park City officials presented an update to a 2013 parking study, showing hundreds of available parking spaces.
“On a normal day around 600 spaces are available in the downtown core. In the peak time during December, it was like 180 spaces available,” said Winter Park City Manager Randy Knight.
City commissioners also looked at six options to create one-way roadways with angled parking in the downtown area to add more spaces.
However, Knight said the lanes would only be 13 feet wide, making it tough for big trucks and emergency vehicles to get through.
He also said if they stretched the roadways to the recommended 18 feet wide they would lose spaces.
“What we found was the travel lanes don’t allow for that to happen and be safe,” said Knight.
Knight said the updated study proves they have enough parking already, so they’re working on developing an app to help people find them.
“We’re looking at putting in cameras to look at where cars are some type of technology like that which would show where the available spaces are in a real-time basis,” said Knight.
City commissioners also raised questions about newly approved developments and how the projects would impact parking.
Officials say they plan on following up on the study and provide the city commission with recommendations in a few months.
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