'Seems we're going backwards again': Updated parking plan hits standstill in Town Council

In a lively dialogue that pitted the interests of residents against local businesses, the Town Council held a presentation that reviewed the town’s new comprehensive parking plan.

Led by council member Lew Crampton, chair of the town’s Business and Administrative Committee that had been tasked with formulating the parking plan, the Oct. 10 presentation also featured Palm Beach Police Lt. Paul Alber, the key lead in the project.

The seven-point plan, first approved during May’s council meeting, aims to reduce traffic, increase parking availability and take a data-driven approach to parking management, according to the presentation.

“If you read most of the surveys that have been out cataloguing residents' number one complaint during season, it's been parking and traffic,” Crampton said.

The presentation tackled five of the seven points: expanding paid parking by utilizing the ParkMobile app; creating a multi-layer residential parking pass program; increasing the quantity of free 30-minute parking spots; improved traffic and parking signage; and revitalizing parking enforcement.

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Though council members, Alber and the public agreed to the need for the plan, there was plenty of criticism about the details.

Council members Ted Cooney and Julie Araskog decried the lack of clarity in the voting and implementation of the project.

Cooney said he thought the May vote was solely to continue discussion, not approve implementation.

“I just got the sense coming into this, that it was more done than I believed,” said Cooney. “I told people (constituents) we are still studying.”

Employee parking for nonresidents and the number of free 30-minute parking zones garnered the most attention during the two-hour discussion.

“I’m very concerned about mom-and-pop shops. ... They may not be able to afford to get parking for all their employees, and they’re used to a system we have already had in place for so long,” Araskog said.

Council President Pro Tempore Bobbie Lindsay wondered where Palm Beach Public Elementary teachers would find parking. Currently, teachers park north of the school along Seaview Avenue thanks to its two-hour free parking, but under the current plan, all those spots would be pay to park.

It would be "hard for them to pay $5 an hour for parking, and I think you need to take that into consideration,” Lindsay said.

Business owners also weighed in on the plan.

“The problem is you have business that have been serving this town for years, and I really think you should have their input and have some type of acknowledgement for their concerns and not just the residents,” said Carrie Bradburn, owner of Capehart Photography. “I pay rent, which pays the property taxes that fund everything."

Bradburn also called for an increase in the number of 30-minute parking zones.

Greg Meyers, husband of Lycette Designs owner Jessica Chaney, said the $5 parking fee could hurt small businesses.

"I have an average unit selling price of $7.50," said Meyers. "If I ask customers to spend an additional $5 ... that's a really big price increase that I'm asking to pass on to customers, and it's not a price increase I can help thwart."

Town Manager Kirk Blouin admonished the council for their pace in accepting any new parking plan.

"It seems like we're getting close and now it seems we're going backwards again," said Blouin. "We need some direction from the council so we can implement and start a realistic parking program."

Diego Diaz Lasa is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at dlasa@pbdailynews.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Palm Beach's new parking plan at standstill after recent council meeting