Council votes to make downtown parking free after 5 p.m. and on weekends

The Fort Myers City Council voted Sept. 3 to permanently eliminate downtown parking fees after 5 p.m. and to make parking free on weekends, following extended discussion about enforcement, signage and the user experience.

Councilmembers and business advocates spent more than an hour debating the change. Councilmember (speaker 15) proposed the amendment to make parking "permanently free after 5 and free on the weekends then," which a second supported and the council approved by roll call. Council members cited concerns that new kiosks and a cashless rollout had confused customers and hurt downtown merchants' revenues; one council member said a downtown business reported a "$30,000 month-over-month loss" attributed to the parking changes.

Finance staff explained the equipment and operating costs the city incurred to implement the parking management system. Director of Financial Services Chris Tenney told the council the kiosks cost about $215,000 for 32 machines, with an annual warranty near $10,000 and an annual management fee around $21,000. "It was a little over $200,000, maybe closer to about 215,000," Tenney said when asked about kiosk costs.

Supporters of the rollback argued the city can absorb the operating expenses within the parking enterprise fund and that restoring the after-5 free option would help downtown businesses recover lost customers. Opponents worried a permanent rollback would reduce revenue used to maintain aging garages; speakers urged improved signage, more kiosks and better customer-facing information as alternatives to immediate fee removal.

The motion passed by roll call; the mayor declared "motion carries" after affirmative votes were recorded.