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Anna Maria says parking is at capacity; city, county discuss trolley reroute and short-term measures
Summary
City of Anna Maria officials told Manatee County the island’s north-end streets are filling to capacity, creating safety and sanitation pressures and prompting proposals to reroute the trolley to gain 10–12 parking spaces near the pier.
City of Anna Maria officials told county commissioners they are reaching capacity for on-street parking and described safety and sanitation pressures from high visitor volumes, even on non-holiday weekends.
Mayor Short and city staff said many public right-of-ways fill quickly and that code enforcement, public works and sheriff deputies have been providing overtime coverage to manage parking, trash and safety. The city said it does not currently charge for parking or operate permit-only streets in most areas, and that free parking is widely known and used.
“We are at capacity with respect to parking,” Mayor Short said, noting that a Memorial Day weekend photo set showed residential streets and park lots fully occupied and dumpsters reaching capacity.
City staff proposed rerouting the island trolley down Magnolia to pass the Anna Maria Center instead of using the turnaround at the pier. The city said removing the turnaround could free roughly 10–12 parking spaces adjacent to the pier — a locally significant number — while keeping a trolley stop near the pier.
County staff offered to evaluate the proposed trolley route change with transit staff and to meet on-site to review potential parking expansions at Bayfront Park, including using permeable-grid parking systems that would expand spaces while remaining ADA compliant.
City clerk Amber Larrot asked the county to consider “seasonal support” or other cost-sharing for tourism impacts and to partner on shoreline, flood-barrier and pedestrian-safety grant opportunities.
No county policy change or new permits were approved at the meeting. Commissioners asked staff to schedule follow-up site visits with transit and public-works staff to evaluate the trolley reroute, Bayfront Park parking expansion and potential smallinterventions the city could implement quickly to reduce safety risks.
