A Parking and Loading Win for Downtown and ArtWalk

[urbanjacksonville]

This is from a post I wrote today on Urban Jacksonville
http://www.urbanjacksonville.info/2010/01/06/parking-and-loading-downtown-for-artwalk

Downtown Vision (DVI) has listened and responded to an important downtown stakeholder: artists. Various loading zone issues and confusion during the December ArtWalk prompted me to email DVI with suggestions for minimizing tickets in those loading areas.

DVI responded with a solution that will help those artists who are part of Downtown Vision and The Cultural Council’s Off The Grid initiative, where artists are paired with empty retail space in the core.
First Some Background

I received a ticket last month while parked in a loading zone at 229 N. Hogan. I was loading my car after ArtWalk with 8 chairs and 4 8-foot tables to get into my wagon. I was there for a total of 15 minutes and I received a ticket. I wasn’t the only one.

It was one of those moments where you see yourself getting the ticket, so you run to explain your situation and that you’re leaving right away. It seemed reasonable I could talk the attendant into tearing up the ticket, but no dice. He politely and calmly explained the protocols of parking in designated loading areas in and around downtown Jacksonville. You must either:

   1. Have a $50.00 parking permit from the City of Jacksonville. This grants you unlimited freight loading and unloading, up to an hour.
   2. Have a magnetic sticker for both sides of your car. These cost about $30 each. When I asked if a handwritten sign would work, he shook his head no.

The COJ website is a little vague on the specifics of the signage use on both sides of the vehicle:

In a Freight Loading Zone: Don’t park in a freight loading zone unless you have company logos on both sides of your vehicle, or a freight permit issued by the Parking Facilities & Enforcement Division. Don’t park for more than one hour. These areas are in very high demand and are strictly enforced.

I’m all for following the rules and they exist for a reason, but it seems risky to ding people with parking tickets who are participating in a Downtown event. That brings me to the recommendation portion of this blog post and Downtown Vision’s solution.

I’d wanted to see Downtown Vision create some type of official signage that can be used the week of ArtWalk for loading and unloading vehicles. They already do so much for the people who participate in the ArtWalk every month, mainly marketing, this could be one more “feature” for participants.

I was sure something like this would be easy for DVI to do and I was right. Here is the DVI response and solution:

Downtown Vision, Inc. will provide each studio/gallery two sets of magnetic signs to allow two cars at a time the ability to load and unload in loading zones. The magnetic signs will be paid for by DVI. If signs are lost, replacement signs will be at the artist’s expense. DVI hopes to have the signs by mid- January.

        * Each set includes two signs.
        * Signs must be placed on both sides of vehicle.
        * These signs will allow a vehicle the use of the freight loading zone for up to one hour.

As important ArtWalk is for Downtown I feel like making the loading process a little more user friendly is a good idea. If you’re at ArtWalk on Wednesday, keep an eye out for Mayor Peyton. He’ll be making rounds at various venues. Stop him and say hi, he’s a nice guy.

[mtraininjax]

I’m all for following the rules and they exist for a reason, but it seems risky to ding people with parking tickets who are participating in a Downtown event.

Spend the 50 bucks for permit or 30 bucks for magnetic signs, it's well worth it. These are the cities rules and we ALL have to live by them, you are preaching to the choir for all the vendors who serve downtown, of which you are now a humble member of. Lucky you.

[uptowngirl]

Dumb question...why do our parking meters only take quarters? I get so ticked everytime I go downtown and do not have quarters! Can we please enter this century and put in solar powered parking machines where you enter the parking space number and can pay however you choose (quarters, dimes, nickles, credit card)?!!! I pretty much refuse to visit downtown unless absolutely required, before 6PM and to be truthful usually only on the weekend and then just to the library. It is WAY too much of a hassle!

[Steve]

^The city did a 90 day test on smart meters (all coins, plus Visa and MasterCard), which was very well received, but they need to now budget the cost of replacing them, which has not been done yet.

No work on whether or not the Smithsonian Institute will pay us for the antiques.

[uptowngirl]

Jacksonville is the first city I have ever been in that a parking structure downtown only takes cash, now how backwards is that?  How about starting small and fixing basics? But now I am off topic and will leave well enough alone. I think everyone realizes how backwards downtown is, and no amount of "glitz" is going to fix it.

[Bativac]

I guess this is a win, though I agree with UptownGirl. I was at Art Walk last night and parked right across from the old library in a metered space. I opted not to worry about the fact that the meter was expired and I had no change (this was around 4:30 PM). Didn't get a ticket or anything and was there until 8:30. The friend who was with me was very concerned about getting towed, almost to the point where I had to talk him into staying.

Earlier that same day I was dismantling my window display in 201 N Hogan. The loading spaces were all full, so I just put on the hazard lights and parked in the street. The two cops who passed by didn't seem to care.

[mtraininjax]

The two cops who passed by didn't seem to care.

Cops don't write parking tickets, much less traffic citations, they get the rent-a-cops in yellow to do it for them. If you see a Parking Enforcement vehicle, with an overweight person with a HUGE chip on their shoulder because they were too dumb to get into the rent-a-cop program, you better move your car, as they will write you a ticket if you are parked, even if you move it. They have no shame.

[uptowngirl]

I got a ticket last week from a cop, I saw him write it, I was about two minutes late back to the meter and he was writing me a ticket one block from the library. I guess I need to go back to Brentwood library they have a parking lot right there and it is free! I have tried to ride my bike to Main library, but it was stolen (with cops right out front in broad daylight). The moral of the story is, if it makes them money they will get out of the car, if it is just your property being stolen forget it...

[tufsu1]

Jacksonville is the first city I have ever been in that a parking structure downtown only takes cash, now how backwards is that?  How about starting small and fixing basics? But now I am off topic and will leave well enough alone. I think everyone realizes how backwards downtown is, and no amount of "glitz" is going to fix it.

I can name at least 10 cities with public garages that only take cash/check...including Orlando and Tallahasee, where I've parked in the last month.

[mtraininjax]

The moral of the story is, if it makes them money they will get out of the car, if it is just your property being stolen forget it...

I've been parking downtown for 10 years, never received a ticket from a JSO officer in blue, always from the dummys in grey, with parking enforcement. JSO will rarely, if ever, write parking tickets, why write a 15 dollar ticket when speeding tickets are easily over 100? Any JSO officer caught writing parking tickets should be fired.