St. Augustine’s Parking and Traffic Committee Master Plan

A solution to a problem that concerns us all

What will it take to manage St. Augustine’s traffic and parking needs?

A program with several elements.

The City’s Parking & Traffic Committee, a citizen's committee appointed by the members of the St. Augustine City Commission, has worked diligently since its formation in February 2003, to find workable and realistic solutions to the challenge of managing the city’s parking and traffic.

The result is the Master Plan as approved by the committee at the April 24, 2003, meeting.

The Master Plan has seven key components and, like a puzzle, each is needed to make the whole.

The Heritage Tourism Signage Program
The Heritage Tourism Sign Program consists of attractive and informative signs designed to assist vehicular traffic to appropriate destinations, including parking facilities, and to assist pedestrians to easily fid their way around the city.

Visitor Information Center Transportation Facility
This facility will be a parking garage and much more. With a projected excess of 1,000 parking spaces, the facility will serve as a focal point and anchor for visitors and residents creating an organized arrival experience adjacent to the historic downtown and offering access to a number of transportation options including sightseeing trains and trolleys, horse carriages, walking tours and a free shuttle.

Downtown Shuttle
A free shuttle that would run a looped route from the Visitor Information Center to the Plaza to help move visitors, employees of downtown businesses and students from the parking facility to and from their destinations.

Parking Disincentives for Downtown Area
To increase parking at the Visitor Information Center it is necessary to discourage parking in residential areas or all-day parking in the business districts. Increasing meter fees and parking fines will act as strong encouragement to use the VIC and utilize the free shuttle.

Residential Parking Decal Program
With visitors, students and business employees utilizing the VIC, residents of the downtown neighborhoods will have greater access to on street parking near their homes aided by a program of decal identification for their vehicles.

Parking at San Sebastian Harbour
As part of the development plan for the San Sebastian Harbour, a parking facility would be created to serve the immediate needs of the development, downtown businesses and students.

Remodel the Lightner Parking Lot
Additional parking could be created by removing the former fire station and reconfiguring the existing parking lot behind City Hall.

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The Visitor Information Center Transportation Facility

A Key Component of the Master Plan

To be successful, the proposed Visitor Information Center Transportation Facility
should:
• Be convenient to visitors
• Be a multi-modal center offering many options for transportation
• Give an appropriate first impression
• Be accessible for visitors, residents, and businesses
• Be easy to enter and exit
• Be pedestrian and bicycle friendly
• Integrate historic elements in design
• Be an orientation center for tourists and offer assistance with decision-making
• Offer short-term parking
• Include public-private revenue opportunities
• Integrate streetscape and signage program
• Offer incentives for long-term parking
• Have a streetscape connection to St. George St. & San Marco Ave.
• Be of appropriate scale and mass and compatible with surrounding structures and neighborhoods
• Mitigate tour bus intrusion
• Be customer friendly
• Include appropriate landscape & streetscape approaches

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