Commission approves three-month resident parking discount pilot starting April 1

The City Commission on Feb. 11 approved a resident parking rate pilot program that will give registered Coral Gables residents a 25% discount on pay-by-phone parking for a trial period beginning April 1 and running through early July.

Commissioner Castro, who sponsored the item, said the pilot will run approximately three months and a week to include July 4 festivities and will use the city's pay-by-phone app; residents must register license plates through the app to receive the discount. Monica Beltran, director of Parking & Mobility Services, told the commission that experience in other South Florida jurisdictions suggests roughly 10% to 15% of transactions could come from registered residents and that the pilot will create a resident database for outreach and evaluation.

Staff noted that the program initially will be available through the app and at surface meters tied to pay-by-phone systems; some garages use older hardware and will require additional work before they can participate. The Menorca garage already supports pay-by-phone and staff said they would work with departments to register employee vehicles and integrate garage processes with the pilot.

Staff and the sponsoring commissioner emphasized that the pilot is intended to gather data on resident uptake and its effect on downtown parking behavior; the fiscal impact to city revenues cannot be determined until the registration and use data are collected during the trial. City staff will return March 11 with a registration process and a communications plan.

The commission approved the pilot in a roll-call vote.