Group collects signatures against proposed Naples parking garage

NAPLES, Fla. Supporters of a proposal for another parking garage downtown say it’s a way to deal with too many cars.

Opponents want to avoid attracting drivers in the first place.

A group has collected almost 300 signatures in an effort to stop a would-be $15 million parking garage from rising at Fourth Avenue South and Fourth Street South. Bill Lutz, a member of the newly formed Naples Garage Coalition, thinks the building would bring in traffic that detracts from the character of downtown.

“It’s a large structure in a residential community,” Lutz said. “It’s also not zoned for a garage.”

The area is zoned residential, so the city would have to change that before it could build the garage. Lutz, a part-time resident, would prefer metered parking on the streets, but people who work on Fifth Avenue shudder at the idea.

“During season, it’s a mess,” Joyce Etchison said. “People are driving around and around and around trying to fit in little spots, it’s seriously a mess.”

That’s with two garages already in existence, at Eighth Street South and Sixth Avenue, and at Eighth Street South and Fourth Avenue. There’s also the lot at Park Street and Sixth Avenue South and trolley services.

The garage, which would be funded by the Community Redevelopment Agency, would add about 350 spots to the mix.

The city will decide in August whether to build it. But Lutz, who’s spending the summer in Chicago, would prefer that call be made during season instead.

“Contentious issues often seem to be brought up during the summer when there aren’t as many people present, and people aren’t playing as close attention,” Lutz said.