South Cape Coral has long struggled with parking. Or rather, the lack of parking.
But a brand-new parking garage has opened near downtown Cape Coral, offering hundreds of spots to ease the parking woes.
The grand opening for the two-story garage was held on Friday morning. The garage features 125 public parking spaces, located at The Cove at 47th.
The City of Cape Coral hopes this will be a significant step toward solving the area’s parking problems.
“When you think about over 100 parking spaces and the number of establishments that we have here to serve, it allows people to come and put their cars in one place and then walk about this walkable city that we’ve been developing over the years,” said Cape Coral Councilmember of District 1 Bill Steinke. “I know the businesses love it, and we love it too.”
Local businesses have faced challenges with full parking lots, which has driven potential customers away.
“It does, but, you know, because a lot of people share it,” said Vinny Tumminello, owner of Sicily Trattoria in South Cape Coral.
Tumminello expressed optimism about the new garage, despite its distance from the main building.
Cape Coral Parking Garage. Credit: City of Cape Coral
“I think it’ll be all right,” he said. “It’s kind of far. It’s what it’s like, four blocks down the street. It’s not really that far. It’s a good walk. It’s a pretty nice walk, you know, with the bricks and stuff. And there are a lot of businesses and stuff down there, and a lot of restaurants. It’s a nightlife, you know?”
However, not all business owners are convinced that the garage will significantly alleviate parking issues due to its location.
This garage is part ofa larger effort by the city to address parking as the area continues to grow.
“The CRA has been working very hard to revitalize this area, to give it a, you know, a fresh new look,” said Steinke. “And that’s coming step by step by step. We’ll have some more of them coming soon.”
The following are the parking garage fees:
The first hour is free.
The second hour is $2.
Every hour after that is $1 each, with a maximum of $20 per hour.
And for special events, parking is $15.
The new parking garage marks a promising development for South Cape Coral as the city continues to grow and evolve.