By this summer, Lakeland is expected to eliminate its practice of offering free downtown parking to visit local restaurants and retail. Visitors may be asked to pay up to $2 an hour for the city’s prime parking spots.
Mayor Bill Mutz almost immediately voiced a bit of a gut-level backlash to the suggested rate increase.
“I don’t feel like I want to charge that, but I’m sorry about that,” he said.
Commissioner Stephanie Madden also expressed a concern. While the city’s goal is to have quick turnover in on-street parking, there may be a finite amount visitors are willing to pay to visit local businesses that don’t have dedicated parking spaces for customers.
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