Holmes Beach removes over 1,000 beach parking spaces. Residents and visitors are not happy
A significant reduction in street parking is facing backlash from visitors and residents in the city of Holmes Beach on Anna Maria Island.
City officials are working on a plan to remove on-street parking in residential neighborhoods, which would result in the loss of more than 1,000 parking spaces located within a quarter-mile of the beach. The city had previously banned all beach access parking in April, using the COVID-19 pandemic and the shutdown of county-owned parking lots as a reason to implement changes.
“For years, we’ve been trying to limit how parking overflows into neighborhoods. I said while City Hall is closed, we should look at other options,” said Mayor Judy Titsworth. “Our concerns are not only trash that’s thrown in neighborhood bushes and stuff, it’s so many cars and noise and people are complaining that it’s only getting worse.”
The effort began in March when Holmes Beach Police Chief William Tokajer set out to research which changes would work best to solve the problem. His plan, which removes 1,102 of the available parking spots within a quarter-mile of the beach, ignited a social media firestorm.
“Chief, this was a huge swing and a miss,” one person commented on a Facebook post announcing the changes. “Traffic congestion and parking has always been an issue on the island. You should have been looking at ways to ADD parking spaces.”
“The city officials need to reverse their decision and remove all signs,” former City Commissioner Rick Hurst commented. “The city then needs to determine exactly if and why any changes are needed and have this justified by real studies done by actual, certified professionals.”
More than 10,000 people have signed a Change.org petition calling on the city of Holmes Beach to reverse the changes, citing “an increase in traffic, less customers for business owners and more people parking illegally in areas that are more sensitive than the previously outlined spaces.”
In a Monday afternoon interview with the Bradenton Herald, Tokajer said the county’s continued growth forced the city to take action to improve residents’ quality of life. There are still 1,300 parking spaces available and the city continues to meet the parking requirements to receive beach renourishment funding.
“We have people that are disrespectful. They park on residential properties, they use pools, hoses, urinate on property and leave diapers behind,” Tokajer explained. “It’s a public safety issue that has increased as time goes by.”
“The truth is that Manatee County has 403,000 people and adds about 10,000 people a year and we had 772,500 tourists last year alone,” he added. “The county has not controlled its growth. The county and tourist development need to give some thoughts about how they plan to park that many people.”
Tokajer suggested creative solutions like a park-and-ride system based in West Bradenton or a tram with a dedicated lane that buses visitors out to the island. He also said the city will continue to tweak its parking plan based on feedback.
“We are looking to lessen the impact in our residential areas. This is not something we’re doing to punish residents,” said Tokajer. “We will look at remedies in the future to see how we can help residents out here.”
According to Titsworth, the city may consider an ordinance that would allow churches and banks to open up their parking lots for paid parking. She also suggested a partnership with the School District of Manatee County that would allow beach visitors to park at Anna Maria Elementary School when school is out. Those recommendations might not pan out, but change had to happen, she said.
“Why would Holmes Beach continue to allow our neighborhoods to be a parking lot for 400,000 county residents? It’s sad because I truly do have empathy that the county has grown to this extent,” said Titsworth. “It’s just something that unfortunately had to happen under someone’s watch, and unfortunately, it was mine.”
Those who violate the new parking rules will be subject to a $50 fine. Residents plan to protest the changes in person outside of Holmes Beach City Hall, 5801 Marina Drive, Tuesday at 5 p.m., before the city’s scheduled 6 p.m. meeting.
