JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Parking, particularly during special events, is difficult in any part of Jacksonville. But in downtown, it’s tricky and potentially costly. Many of the private lots are run by Elite Parking and there are no attendants. Customers either pay at a kiosk or by text and that’s been part of the problem.
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Kia Broderson ended up paying over $100 for just parking an hour and 20 minutes at a lot near the intersection of Forysth and Ocean Streets. It’s a lot operated by Elite Parking.
News4JAX also heard of other problems at other Elite Parking sites, like a private garage near the Jacksonville Public Library where Madelyn Rubin and her husband ended up with an $80 bill last September when they had a problem with their credit card. The difference for them, they fought the high bill and eventually got their money back.
“We weren’t treated fairly initially,” Rubin said. “They did eventually pay us back, but they should’ve had a big sign up there that said, ‘If you don’t know if this goes through, call this number. Otherwise, we’re gonna charge five times more on the back end.’ They should have put that right up front. And I want them to know that these folks, we’re not going to get them to treat us fairly until we complain and we complain.”
The process for some is confusing.
Anyone who goes into the “public parking” lot is asked to enter their license plate and is told there is no free parking anytime. But at no time does it say how much the parking is going to cost until everything is submitted, News4JAX found. That’s when you find out the parking fee is $12 and there’s a $1.50 convenience fee. So the total to park in the lot for 15 minutes on Tuesday was $14.40.
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Dane Grey is the president and CEO of Elite Parking in Jacksonville.
In 2019, Grey asked the City of Jacksonville to consider privatizing its parking and giving his business a 30-year contract to manage parking in downtown, Riverside and San Marco, including the authority to set the rates for parking meters and city-owned garages, the Florida Times-Union reported. That proposal was voted down the following year. Grey was also a part of the JEA Board of Directors that resigned en masse as the JEA scandal unfolded amid privatization efforts.
On Tuesday, News4JAX asked Grey about the parking prices and the problems people have been having with outrageous bills.
“Jacksonville parking is actually one of the lowest-priced parking in the United States,” Grey said. “And to be honest with you, you know, we just manage the parking on our client’s behalf, we outsource the actual enforcement of the facility.”
And it’s that enforcement people are questioning, why it costs so much.
John Conway is with Parking Revenue Recovery Services which handles those bills for some of the lots. He said it’s not outrageous given the fact so many people try to park for free but he said they are going to be making changes.
There are other options when it comes to parking downtown.
Metered street parking, if you can find a place, is much cheaper, $2 for an hour, and at night it’s free. City garages are cheaper if you don’t stay long.
The main takeaway is when you pull into a lot or garage, read all of the signs before you park.
News4JAX learned that after Broderson was hit with an outrageous parking bill, Elite Parking said it was going to refund her extra charge.