Readers comment on downtown parking, the former St. Michael's Church property and more

The Gainesville Sun
·3 min read
A sign from the City of Gainesville telling motorist they have to pay for 2 hours of parking at many of the spaces that had been free, in Gainesville Jan 18, 2022.
A sign from the City of Gainesville telling motorist they have to pay for 2 hours of parking at many of the spaces that had been free, in Gainesville Jan 18, 2022.

Parking changes

Thank you, city of Gainesville. As a senior citizen, over the years I have been trained to put coins in meters to park on the taxpayer-paid downtown streets. I must now get smart enough for a smart phone and an app to park.

My usual evening in downtown has been early dining at a nearby restaurant, and a play at the Hippodrome. This is more than two hours, the maximum meter time, an evening which starts before 6 p.m. and lasts through 8 p.m., when parking enforcement stops.

Is the probable overtime for parking enforcement personnel included in your expectation for increased revenue? Is the expectation of disruption to resident homeless people at the Southwest Downtown Garage being considered?

Russell Henderson, Gainesville

More Letters to the Editor:

Honor past with new park

With Black History Month approaching, thoughts turn to the motivation for giving the land to the former St. Michael's Church. The intentions were for this historic church to become the first integrated church in Gainesville. Its location next to Rutledge Cemetery, founded for the burial of freed slaves, is especially important.

The demolition of the church, which sat at the corner of Northwest 43rd Street and Northwest 23rd Avenue, means forgetting past events and lives.

The historic church, contrary to its original intentions, was torn down because of the worship of money. The mayor's disgraceful decision to support a huge development on this corner is appalling.

The land, as some citizens have suggested, should be taken by eminent domain for a park in honor of Martin Luther King. A much-needed park would respect the sanctity of the intentions of why the land was donated next to Rutledge Cemetery.

Karen Arrington, Gainesville

Insurrection misinformation

The letter published last month on “Left wing violence” is another example of the misinformed, stating that the only people that died on the day of Jan. 6 insurrection were Donald Trump’s supporters. All Constitution-loving Americans were impacted and led to believe by the right that these were just tourists that showed up for a rally. If that is true, why are the Republicans stonewalling the investigation?

Violence in any form by either party involving any protest is counterproductive. Our path forward should be one that seeks the truth and the ugly outcome of wherever that leads. Our leaders owe us that. As long as we keep relying on the internet to guide us through troubled times, nothing gets resolved. We all have a huge stake in the game

I wonder if Mike Pence thinks Trump and his supporters were evil as his life was threatened for doing his job.

Martin Werts, Archer

Impacting our rights

If citizens of the United States of America were asked to write the Bill of Rights from memory, word for word, could they do it? A recent letter to the editor addresses concerns about these rights.

For most of us who sign a contract for services from corporations, are we aware that we are giving up constitutional rights to trial by jury (amendments 6 and 7)? We should be concerned about losing our constitutional rights, but we need to be better informed about the Constitution.

We need to be aware of how businesses are impacting our constitutional rights.

Sue Crist, Gainesville

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This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Letters: Are changes to downtown Gainesville parking worth the cost?