On Tuesday with a landslide vote in the local election, 75% of Fernandina Beach city resident voters voted against downtown paid parking. Following that the City Commission voted to abolish the controversial paid parking initiative as soon as allowed with the parking vendor. That date will be in mid-November.
Although statistics are not available, Amelia Island south end restaurants have had a business windfall since paid parking started earlier this year. Many island residents and visitors have avoided downtown restaurants to skip the hassle of paid parking or because of they were against the mis-guided initiative which the vast majority disliked. One downtown Fernandina restaurant owner was quoted as saying their business has been down this year because of the economy? Really? South Amelia Island restaurants such as Pogo's, Bar Zin, Lagniappe and Cucina South became even more popular after downtown paid parking started this year.
Although city officials likely do not understand this, people that are contemplating buying a 2nd home or a forever home look at many factors on deciding on a location. Having a quaint unique vibrant downtown with restaurants and shops and with people outside & walking is a major asset similar to the appeal of Chatham on Cape Cod. This asset was certainly was not something to tinker with by 5 people on a city commission! The empty downtown parking spaces since February have not sent a good message to tourists and future residents. But common sense prevailed this week!
Soon downtown Fernandina Beach and the Amelia Island lifestyle will be back to normal which has made it such a unique place in Florida.
Pro Tip: From now until November do not pay for parking. Just one block from Centre Street is free street parking especially on north 3rd, 4th and 5th streets and you are a short walk from everything downtown.