New Pensacola parking management company adds to confused downtown parking landscape

Red, blue, and now green lots. A new parking company has opened in Pensacola, adding to downtown's confusing parking landscape that already had one private parking management company in conflict with the city of Pensacola.

Level Parking is a new parking management company that oversees a private parking lot at 25 W. Government St. and has been advertising locally on social media.

The new company is owned by Philip Olivier, who recently worked as a consultant for the city of Pensacola and recommended parking changes, including raising rates and switching to the mobile phone app ParkMobile for online parking payments.

Olivier confirmed to the News Journal that he owned the newly established company based in Pensacola.

Olivier's contract as the city parking consultant ended in December.

Level Parking appears to have started managing the Government Street lot in November, according to photos posted by the company on Google Maps.

Level Parking is also using ParkMobile to handle its online payments.

ParkMobile is the nation's largest parking app used by private and municipal parking lots. The city of Pensacola began using the app in January.

The News Journal asked Olivier if he saw a conflict of interest in recommending ParkMobile for the city while also going into business with the company himself.

"After thorough research into parking solutions for Pensacola, it became evident that ParkMobile stood out as the optimal choice," Olivier said in a written statement. "Thus, opting to utilize the same app for Level Parking was a natural decision. This approach maintains consistency for downtown parkers across both private and public parking and allows us to leverage the extensive user base that ParkMobile enjoys locally, regionally, and nationally."

Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves said in a written statement to the News Journal that he had no comment on Level Parking but added the city does not have authority over how private parking lot owners operate on their private property.

"All Pensacola lot owners are free to negotiate and choose the parking management software of their choice, including their own independent agreement with ParkMobile, which is the largest parking solution provider in the United States," Reeves said in the statement. "The city’s new agreement with ParkMobile is independent of any private lot in the city. We are thrilled with our results so far — 14,000+ parking transactions and two complaints since Jan. 1 — and we are looking forward to seeing more ParkMobile users across the city in the future."

ParkMobile is a way to pay for parking, but enforcement of parking rules are up to the owners of the parking lots. The city issues tickets that must be paid before the vehicle's owner can renew their car tag. However, private lot owners have no way to enforce fines other than through the use of bill collectors. Some lot owners turned to booting or towing to enforce parking rules.

The situation has led to confusion among residents, with the city being wrongfully blamed for the more draconian enforcement measures by private lot owners.

A University of West Florida Haas Center survey conducted last year showed that a large portion of visitors to downtown don't know the difference between privately owned lots and lots managed by the city.

The survey asked residents what color the signs were for city-managed parking, and about 31% identified the wrong color. Only 69% of respondents identified the correct color of blue for city-managed parking areas and red for privately managed parking lots.

Level Parking now adds green signs to the mix.

For parking violators at Level Parking, Olivier said his company will not tow or boot but rather will issue $25 fines for violators.

"Our primary goal is to offer parking management services that combine robust operational strategies with competitive returns for private parking lot owners, all the while ensuring a seamless app experience and consistent enforcement practices for downtown parkers," Olivier said in a written statement.

Olivier is also in a legal battle with another private parking management company that operates in Pensacola: Premium Parking.

Olivier was previously president of the Gulf Coast market for Premium Parking before he left the company in April 2023. The company alleges he stole the company's trade secrets and embezzled company funds by hiring shell companies to perform work done by Premium employees.

Olivier has denied the allegations in court filings and sought the lawsuit's dismissal.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola parking confusion grows with new Level Parking firm