‘Pack your patience:’ Holiday parking big concern on Siesta Key

A proposed parking lot could bring salvation for residents and visitors next year.

By Cassidy Alexander
| 11:30 a.m. June 27, 2017

At Siesta Estates on Memorial Day weekend, people parked on property the community recently paid $16,000 to landscape. Photo courtesy Lori Jasper.

Siesta Key
News

With Fourth of July around the corner, one of everyone’s biggest concerns is parking — especially at the site of one of the area’s most popular fireworks shows.

It’s a problem Siesta Key residents struggle with every holiday — like Siesta Estates resident Lori Jasper on Memorial Day. When people parked just outside the gated community’s wall, on land the residents recently paid $16,000 to have landscaped, Jasper was told by the Sheriff’s Office deputies couldn’t enforce parking issues on private property.

“I know it’s a beautiful beach, and I know we want to share it,” Jasper said, “but I believe people who come here should respect it.”

Tips for parking at Siesta Key on holidays from the Sheriff's Office

Leave early.
Plan ahead, and prepare for heavy traffic.
Plan your route — know where you're going and where you plan to park ahead of time.
Avoid distractions while driving, including electronic devices, eating, etc.
Be extra cognizant of bicyclists and pedestrians.
Consider driving services such as Uber, Lyft, SCAT, trolleys or carpool.
The main parking lot will fill up early. In the past, it has been full at 9 a.m. all weekend.
Surrounding churches will likely offer parking all weekend.
If you do drive, only park in designated areas.
Parking on private property is the responsibility of the condo management to monitor. Our agency does not enforce parking on private property.
Remember to pack your patience and have fun — it's the Fourth of July!

The Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that it is the responsibility of condo management to monitor parking issues.

Management at some condominiums on the island say they hire security to keep an eye on their parking lots.

“We hire an employee on overtime on the Fourth to just direct people away,” said Excelsior Beach to Bay Property Manager Dan Watnem.

Horizons Siesta hires a security guard as well, who ultimately will put locking devices on cars that are not where they should be.

Other condominiums install gates to keep nonresidents out, which is an option Watnem is considering for his property. He said it may be more practical to not give people the option to get in.

For people visiting the Key, the temptation to park in the first spot you see is understandable, but resident and Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce Chairman Mark Smith suggests the best way might be to avoid the problem altogether.

“My first recommendation to anyone on and off the Key is to find another way to get to the beach, or see the fireworks, without driving. Anything but driving the car.”

Smith recommends riding a bike (carefully) or using the Siesta
Key Breeze trolley, which runs between 8 a.m. and midnight between Siesta Village and Turtle Beach. Watnem agrees.

“[Parking is] a growing problem, but with this Breeze trolley, I think that’s a good thing for a lot of folks — both the owners here and people who can park in a different area,” Watnem said.

Could a new parking lot solve the problem?

In the next year, salvation for residents and visitors may come in the form of a new parking lot at 6647 Midnight Pass Road.

At that location is a parcel of land that’s shared by Sarasota County Utilities and the Sheriff’s Office. When the sheriff vacates the property in October for a new facility, County Commissioner Al Maio hopes to turn part of the property into a public parking lot with about 140 spaces.

“Parking is a premium on Siesta Key, and this lot, owned by the county, is the perfect opportunity to get additional parking,” said Smith, who sketched out preliminary plans for the lot, though they aren’t ready to be seen by the public. “So I’m happy that the County Commission and staff are working to make that happen.”

The County Commission already has voted unanimously to not sell the land, and unanimously approved the utility department’s recommendation that the land be used unintrusively, Maio said.

“People have been very patient,” Maio said. “It’s an incremental and sequential process.”

After the Sheriff’s Office leaves the property, the process of finding funds, demolishing an existing building on the property and drawing up plans will begin. Maio said if all goes well, he’d expect there to be some headway on the project by the new year.

“I’m going to do my very best to make sure this doesn’t fail,” he said.

Those wishing to head to Siesta Key for Fourth of July can do what Smith recommended and bike over from the mainland. A representative of Sarasota County Area Transit said no buses will be running on July 4.

If you do take your car, parking can be found in the Siesta Village, at Siesta Beach or at some churches on the island.

The Sheriff’s Office recommends getting there early — last year, the main parking lot filled up by 9 a.m. each day that weekend. The Sheriff’s Office also recommends carpooling or trying a service like Uber, and encourages everyone to “pack your patience.”