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What’s one thing that would instantly improve your city?

If I could change one thing about Sarasota tomorrow, I would make parking free again.

Downtown, near the restaurants, at the beaches—wherever public parking is available—get rid of the meters, delete the parking apps, and stop charging people simply to enjoy the city.

When I moved here 10 years ago, paying to park wasn’t part of everyday life in Sarasota. You could drive downtown, park your car, walk around, eat at a restaurant, visit a local business, or spend some time near the water without being charged for the privilege of showing up.

Today, it feels like Sarasota is looking for another way to collect money every time you leave the house.

I understand that Sarasota has grown. There are more residents, more tourists, more condominiums, and more cars fighting for the same limited number of spaces. Parking is a real problem, especially downtown and near the beaches.

But charging people to park doesn’t create more parking.

It just makes visiting Sarasota more expensive and more aggravating.

Paid Parking Hurts Local Businesses

People may say that a few dollars for parking isn’t a big deal. But that misses the point.

It creates friction.

Maybe someone wants to stop downtown for a cup of coffee, grab lunch, walk into a store, or meet somebody for an hour. Now they have to find a space, figure out which app to download, enter their information, pay another fee, and keep watching the clock.

Sometimes people decide it isn’t worth the trouble.

That directly affects the restaurants, stores, and small businesses that depend on people coming downtown and spending money. A restaurant owner already has enough problems between food costs, labor, rent, insurance, and taxes. The city shouldn’t make it harder for customers to walk through the door.

If Sarasota wants to support local businesses, make those businesses easier to visit.

Our Taxes Should Already Cover Public Streets

We already pay taxes to live here. Property owners pay taxes. Businesses pay taxes. Tourists generate revenue while they are here.

Why are we also being charged to leave a vehicle on a public street for an hour?

To me, paid parking feels less like traffic management and more like another revenue stream. Once a city learns that it can monetize every parking space, the meters keep spreading.

Eventually, going downtown starts feeling like entering an airport. Every step of the experience comes with another fee.

That isn’t the Sarasota I moved to 10 years ago, and it isn’t the direction I want to see this city continue going.

Manage Parking Without Charging Everyone

Eliminating paid parking doesn’t mean allowing vehicles to occupy prime spaces all day.

Keep reasonable time limits. Enforce them.

Create designated areas where downtown employees can park without occupying the closest customer spaces. Require new developments to account for the additional traffic and parking demand they create. Improve traffic flow and make sure parking infrastructure keeps pace with Sarasota’s continued growth.

If somebody leaves a vehicle in a two-hour space all day, ticket them. If someone parks illegally or blocks access, tow them. There are ways to prevent abuse without charging every person who wants to eat dinner or walk around downtown.

The solution to limited parking should be better planning—not another fee.

Sarasota Needs to Remain Easy to Enjoy

Sarasota is one of the most beautiful places in the country. We have the water, the beaches, the restaurants, the weather, and a downtown that people genuinely want to experience.

But part of what makes a city enjoyable is convenience.

When every outing begins with traffic, searching for a parking space, downloading an app, and paying another fee, the experience starts losing some of its appeal.

Growth isn’t necessarily the problem. Growing without a plan is the problem.

Sarasota has added people, buildings, businesses, and tourism. Our roads, traffic systems, and parking infrastructure need to grow intelligently alongside them. The answer cannot always be to place the burden back on residents and visitors.

If Sarasota wants people supporting downtown restaurants, shopping at independent businesses, visiting the waterfront, and spending time in the city, stop penalizing them for arriving.

Make parking free again.

Sarasota doesn’t need another fee. It needs fewer barriers between local businesses and the people who want to support them.

Fuck paying for parking.

Make Sarasota easy to enjoy again.

— Nicholas Francis
Modern Day Dealer
NFAFinance.com