Downtown Vision (DVI) has listened and responded to an important downtown stakeholder: artists. Various loading zone issues and confusion during the December ArtWalk prompted me to email DVI with suggestions for minimizing tickets in those loading areas.
DVI responded with a solution that will help those artists who are part of Downtown Vision and The Cultural Council’s Off The Grid initiative, where artists are paired with empty retail space in the core.
First Some Background
I received a ticket last month while parked in a loading zone at 229 N. Hogan. I was loading my car after ArtWalk with 8 chairs and 4 8-foot tables to get into my wagon. I was there for a total of 15 minutes and I received a ticket. I wasn’t the only one.
It was one of those moments where you see yourself getting the ticket, so you run to explain your situation and that you’re leaving right away. It seemed reasonable I could talk the attendant into tearing up the ticket, but no dice. He politely and calmly explained the protocols of parking in designated loading areas in and around downtown Jacksonville. You must either:
- Have a $50.00 parking permit from the City of Jacksonville. This grants you unlimited freight loading and unloading, up to an hour.
- Have a magnetic sticker for both sides of your car. These cost about $30 each. When I asked if a handwritten sign would work, he shook his head no.
The COJ website is a little vague on the specifics of the signage use on both sides of the vehicle:
In a Freight Loading Zone: Don’t park in a freight loading zone unless you have company logos on both sides of your vehicle, or a freight permit issued by the Parking Facilities & Enforcement Division. Don’t park for more than one hour. These areas are in very high demand and are strictly enforced.
I’m all for following the rules and they exist for a reason, but it seems risky to ding people with parking tickets who are participating in a Downtown event. That brings me to the recommendation portion of this blog post and Downtown Vision’s solution.
I’d wanted to see Downtown Vision create some type of official signage that can be used the week of ArtWalk for loading and unloading vehicles. They already do so much for the people who participate in the ArtWalk every month, mainly marketing, this could be one more “feature” for participants.
I was sure something like this would be easy for DVI to do and I was right. Here is the DVI response and solution:
Downtown Vision, Inc. will provide each studio/gallery two sets of magnetic signs to allow two cars at a time the ability to load and unload in loading zones. The magnetic signs will be paid for by DVI. If signs are lost, replacement signs will be at the artist’s expense. DVI hopes to have the signs by mid- January.
- Each set includes two signs.
- Signs must be placed on both sides of vehicle.
- These signs will allow a vehicle the use of the freight loading zone for up to one hour.
As important ArtWalk is for Downtown I feel like making the loading process a little more user friendly is a good idea. If you’re at ArtWalk on Wednesday, keep an eye out for Mayor Peyton. He’ll be making rounds at various venues. Stop him and say hi, he’s a nice guy.
