Gainesville City Commission decides against adding parking at Tom Petty Park, approves contract for school speed zone cameras
BY JENNIFER CABRERA
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – During the morning session of the September 18 Gainesville City Commission meeting, Commissioners approved the closure of a street near the Santa Fe College Blount Center, decided against adding parking at Tom Petty Park, and approved a contract for school speed zone cameras at Lincoln Middle School and Talbot Elementary.
License for exclusive use of two blocks of NW 5th Street
Commissioners pulled from the consent agenda a request to grant Santa Fe College the exclusive use of NW 5th Street between NW 3rd Avenue and NW 5th Avenue, for the use of its Automotive Tech program.
Special Advisor for Infrastructure Brian Singleton said this would benefit the City because it’s consistent with their goals of economic development and workforce development, and they will no longer have to maintain the road. He said bicycles and pedestrians will still be able to use the corridor, and there will be a siren-activated gate that admits emergency vehicles. He said the biggest impact will be that drivers traveling westbound on NW 4th Avenue (which is one-way westbound already) will only be able to turn right, so they would need to go around the block to go south, “but the block sizes are relatively small, and that should not create an undue burden for access.” Staff recommended moving forward with the license agreement for the use and maintenance of the road for 40 years for $1 per year, a total of $40.
Santa Fe College’s planned Automotive Technology Training Center at the Blount Center will feature interactive classrooms and teaching bays to facilitate hands-on learning; specialty training bays for advanced vehicle systems; an engine and transmission lab for powertrain work, and a dedicated EV diagnostics lab, where students will master high-tech safety features.
Liam McClay, Vice President for Public and Government Affairs and Chief Operating Officer at Santa Fe College, said the automotive program will use vehicles that do not leave campus and just drive in and out of the automotive bays; he said the program needs the use of the road to test-drive vehicles.
Commissioner Cynthia Chestnut made a motion to approve staff’s recommendation to grant the license, and Commissioner Casey Willits seconded the motion. The motion passed 5-0, with Commissioners Ed Book and Desmon Duncan-Walker absent.
Parking lot expansion at Tom Petty Park
Commissioners next took up approval of a parking lot expansion project at Tom Petty Park, with a staff recommendation to proceed with the design and permitting of a 41-space asphalt parking expansion at the park, costing $625,000.
Singleton said, “There were some project management and communication issues over the past couple years regarding the project and the Wild Spaces Public Places team,… [including] a lack of transparency… to the public. Those items have been addressed and will not occur again.” He said a neighborhood workshop was held a few months ago, and the attendees “were not in support of the additional parking.” He said a parking study demonstrated “that the parking lot expansion is warranted and needed… So again, on behalf of the Wild Spaces Public Places Department, we apologize for the communication issues and the lack of transparency, and they will not happen again.”
Mayor Harvey Ward suggested working with St. Patrick’s to use some of their parking and working with the County to add lighted crosswalks across NE 16th Avenue.
During public comment, six people spoke against adding parking. Three people requested that the City prioritize multi-use field space over parking, one requested improved access to the field lighting, and one said parking could be added in the future if needed.
Commissioner Bryan Eastman thanked Singleton for saying the process could have been handled better: “That, to me, showcases folks that are doing their job well. We don’t always do things right, but we are committed to doing better, and we generally do things right… When we come up short, we just say it and we move forward.” He said he uses the park a lot, and the existing parking is not heavily used because people in the surrounding neighborhoods walk and bike to the park.
Chestnut made a motion to explore partnerships for parking opportunities with St. Patrick’s and other property owners in the neighborhood and to explore opportunities for a lighted crosswalk across NE 16th Avenue. Willits seconded the motion.
Eastman suggested adding direction to staff “that we are not moving forward with the parking option” to the motion, and Chestnut agreed.
Ward said he supported the motion, but “four or five years down the road, [if] we find out that we do need this, it’s going to cost twice as much money… That’s a reality… I’m sure I’ll be quoted negatively on this at some points, but… we don’t owe everyone an optimal parking experience. We’re looking for an optimal park experience, and those are not the same thing, always.”
The motion passed 5-0, with Book and Duncan-Walker absent.
School speed zone cameras
The Commission next approved a contract with RedSpeed Florida, LLC for speed cameras at the school zones for Lincoln Middle School and Talbot Elementary School. The contract is expected to be revenue-neutral, but the labor costs for the Gainesville Police Department are currently unknown, which is part of the reason why they started with two schools. The details of the program were covered in our article on the February 27 General Policy Committee meeting.
Chestnut made a motion to approve the contract, and Eastman seconded the motion. The motion passed 5-0, with Book and Duncan-Walker absent.
Put officers on the road policing like they’re supposed to be doing and you won’t need cameras.
Common sense eludes that group of idiots.
Sue, if money is no object.
Stop wasting tax dollars!
Policing by camera is concerning to me. It’s a surveillance state mentality, and seems subject to glitches that could result in charges. I dislike this move to put us all under surveillance as we move about. Very Big Brother type approach.
It is already too late. Every car is tracked and the plate recorded. That system is in place. The school zone cameras are for revenue only. If a vehicle is ripping through a school zone at 50 mph, the camera only records the event and does not stop the car.
Got a cellphone? You’re already under surveillance.
That is within your control. The surveillance cameras are not.
These cameras concern me. What guarantees are there that the rich and powerful won’t be treated with special privileges?
They will.
As the supervisor of the crossing guards for GPD for MANY years, I begged the traffic unit to assign motor units to the school zones in a rotating fashion.
No was the answer. Reason being speeding tickets written on local roads (where most school zones are located) produce far less revenue than those issued on State or U.S. highways.
Follow the money 💰 people.
The cameras are revenue-driven. If they gave a toot about traffic enforcement, they would put cops on the street. The cameras do nothing but collect money for their pet projects.
Honest question: How many readers on here actually go downtown anymore?
I know my family avoids it like the plague. I try and avoid places where I feel I can’t be safe unless I’m carrying a firearm. I shouldn’t have to feel like that, so I just avoid going there altogether. Back in the late 90’s I was a student at UF. I used to go downtown multiple days each week after dark and take in the nightlife. It was great. Never feared for my safety. Now it’s just littered with pandhandlers, homeless, and trash. Not a place I enjoy being. It’s a shame too because we really like going to Harry’s as they still have one of the best value meals in the county. But I’d rather drive the extra distance out to The Yearling instead as the food value is just as good but the surrounding atmosphere is worlds apart better.
The Top apparently stops serving all food at 10 p.m., and 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. I was going to order some food online and pick it up, but it was too late. That’s a good indicator that things downtown have gone way downhill, since they used to serve a ton of late night bar food every night until at least 1 a.m. It’s hard to believe, honestly.
For many years I walked an evening loop through downtown for fun and exercise. No more. I do not want to shoot anyone or be shot.
I go downtown in the evening at least once a month, often including – not all the same night – Harry’s, Loosey’s, the Hipp, and Bo Diddley PLaza. It is not “littered with pandhandlers, homeless, and trash” and I’ve never had a dangerous or threatening incidence. Given the families that tend to go to Harry’s, the Plaza, and the Hipp I doubt many others have had one, though it could happen as easily in the Walmart parking lot. It’s too bad our streets are populated by many with guns, including teenagers, as any incident could turn fatal in a matter of seconds.
You are staying in that little well-lit and policed area from University Ave. to the old post office. Walk a couple of blocks east on University Ave. or SE 4th Ave….or just walk down University to 13th and your experiance may change a bit.