The discussion of allowing commercial vehicle parking on lined streets in the Community Redevelopment Agency district will go to a workshop with the Cape Coral City Council in January to discuss options.
Cape Coral City Council, sitting as the South Cape Community Redevelopment Agency Commission, made the decision Wednesday to look at options that would allow regulated street parking.
Councilmember Bill Steinke brought back issue of commercial vehicle parking on rights-of-way as he found that right-of-way parking also includes lined street parking — the side streets in the South Cape, the city’s entertainment district.
“Businesses are reliant on parking spaces for people to come and go to establishments. They park in-between those yellow lines with their Ford F150 with AJ’s Electric on it. They would be out of compliance and ticketable while they went to any of our businesses in the CRA,” he said.
Steinke said a commercial vehicle is defined as having information on the side of the vehicle, such as name, and contact information.
“We made accommodations for them when we did not want commercial vehicles in residential areas,” he said.
The solution he provided was to amend the resolution to allow for the same type of parking in those designated parking spaces on the street without a time limit.
Steinke said he was looking at some type of amendment that “will allow for patrons of these businesses, that perhaps are in business themselves, to park at establishments.”
Mayor John Gunter said there is a two-hour restriction currently offered, so those driving their pickup truck that is lettered, can stop for dinner. He said he could support a longer length of time, but doing away with a time all together was something he could not support.
“We want to be business-friendly and allow people to go and utilize the business, but we want to make sure those spaces aren’t utilized for storage of vehicles,” he said.
Steinke said as they continue to build an entertainment district in the historic downtown area, people will have dinner and then walk to another establishment, which will be longer than two hours. He said he is trying to encourage pedestrian traffic over vehicular traffic.
“I don’t think we should restrict those parking in the identified street spaces,” Steinke said.
Chair Jennifer Nelson-Lastra said the enforcement and regulating of the proposal would be a nightmare.
“We can’t make (decisions) on someone else making poor decisions,” Gunter said.
The issue will come to a City Council workshop with options in January.
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