The city of St. Petersburg is considering expanding its residential parking permit program beyond the current downtown core area to address growing parking issues in other neighborhoods.

The city’s transportation and parking management director, Evan Mory, noted that the regulations have seen little update since the program launched in 1992. Councilmember Lisset Hanewicz requested the November 7th committee discussion due to increasing parking challenges around businesses along the 4th Street North corridor.

“If you’re the person who lives a block from these areas, it matters to you,” Hanewicz said. “Somebody two blocks away – it doesn’t matter to them.”

Currently, the residential parking permit program covers the downtown waterfront area west through the Grand Central District. In 2018-2019, the program was expanded to the Old Northeast neighborhood as business visitors repeatedly encroached on the residential streets.

As the city continues to grow and density increases due to zoning changes, the parking challenges are expected to worsen. Residents in the existing five permit zones can pay $15 annually for an on-street parking permit and two visitor passes, while Old Northeast residents receive three visitor passes.

Hanewicz pointed out that many St. Petersburg homes lack garages or driveways, increasing the need for on-street parking. The city prohibits commercial vehicles from parking on residential streets when not actively working.

Officials are now exploring whether to expand the permit program to other neighborhoods, such as the area around a popular Trader Joe’s grocery store on 4th Street, where residents frequently complain about customer parking spilling into the residential areas.

Director Mory noted that any expansion would need to meet the city’s 75% parking occupancy criteria and have at least 25% of vehicles owned by non-residents. He also warned that an expanded program could negatively impact commercial employees and customers.

One option being considered is following the City of Phoenix’s lead and only allowing residential parking in problem areas, which would be easier to enforce. Administrators recommend a similar process to implementing traffic calming, seeking at least 60% stakeholder approval.

Hanewicz stressed that addressing parking issues is crucial to improving quality of life for all St. Petersburg residents, regardless of location. Officials will continue discussions on potential updates to the parking permit program.

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