Sebring CRA Debates Downtown Parking

SEBRING - Although Sebring Community Redevelopment Agency members agree downtown parking is a problem, they are considering an option that would eliminate parking in the Circle.

CRA members discussed, at Monday's meeting, the possibility of widening the sidewalk eight feet around Circle Park and removing the parking spaces.

"It would give us a lot more space for tables and chairs for sidewalk cafes and more room for landscaping," said Gene Brenner, chairman of CRA. "We are only talking about 21 spaces, so it won't take that much away."

CRA members will consider this option as they create plans for Streetscape IX, which will make aesthetic improvements and fix structural problems with the Circle and surrounding streets.

"When you create a destination location, parking becomes a problem," said Pete Pollard, executive director of CRA. "We are reaching the point where parking is moving up the list in terms of priority. If we are going to attract shops and restaurants that generate life after 5 (p.m.), wider sidewalks are an asset, but parking is important too."

CRA Member Art Harriman said he has avoided shopping at stores on the Circle when he cannot find convenient parking.

"I've tried to go to stores on the Circle, and I've driven around looking for parking, and when I can't find one, I give up and go somewhere else," Harriman said.

CRA Member Kelly Griffin said she thinks as downtown becomes a destination, people wouldn't mind parking and walking a few blocks.

"People walk across the parking lot at the mall and don't think anything of it," Griffin said. "People who lived in larger cities and move to Sebring shouldn't keep parking from having them come downtown."

CRA members said they will likely consider some parking restrictions, such as time limitations, when they begin to work on specifics of the Streetscape IX project.

Brenner said he thinks store owners should not be allowed to park in front of their business.

"A lot of people take up a spot in the Circle all day because they are too lazy to walk a block to a public parking lot," Brenner said. "But I don't think the business owners realize how much of an inconvenience it is to their customers."

To fix some of the parking problems, CRA will repave and expand the parking lot at the corner of South Mango Street and Magnolia Avenue. The $158,127 project will repave and expand the lot and drainage will be improved. The lot currently has 42 parking spaces, which are typically filled during weekdays, and after construction there will be 66 parking spaces on the half-acre lot.

Because the bid was lower than the budgeted amount, the CRA also will pay about $8,500 to resurface the alleyways.

CRA members want to move the project along quickly, so construction will start within a few months, which is the busiest time of year for traffic. The project will take 120 days to complete.

"It will be inconvenient for the people who park in that lot because they will have to park farther away and walk," Pollard said. "But when we are through, it will be really nice."