NEPTUNE BEACH, Fla. — Neptune Beach Mayor Cori Bylund has now told Action News Jax that she is working to create cheaper parking options for people working in the Beaches Town Center.
It’s in response to a petition started earlier this month by Reilee Meyer, a Beaches Town Center employee. She tells Action News Jax that she has not had a consistently affordable parking option for years, which she claims has been made worse by a recent decision by the city to raise town center parking prices that to $2.50 per hour during the day and $5 per hour after 5:00 PM.
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<
“Whether it’s fifty cents, a dollar, $10, $40, it’s just not right to make somebody have to pay to go to work,” Meyer said.
Meyer said she has worked in the Beaches Town Center for the last five years and has never had a designated employee parking lot to leave her car during her shifts. The petition she started this month calls on the city to create a free parking lot for town center workers, which received hundreds of signatures within a few days.
So many people signed the petition that it got the attention of Mayor Bylund. She and Meyer told us they were able to meet last week to discuss possible parking solutions.
“She cared. She showed a lot of concern and empathy for the people in the service industry,” said Meyer.
Mayor Bylund wasn’t able to interview with Action News Jax, but she told us one of the solutions she and Meyer came up with was a free shuttle between the Beaches Town Center and the free parking spaces at the intersection of Penman Road and Lemon Street.
Bylund said she also wants to work with the owner of the old K-Mart parking lot on Atlantic Boulevard to change the daily parking rate for employees to $3, as opposed to the current $10.50 daily rate.
Meyer told us she is thankful that the city has been openly communicating with her to try and find solutions for her, her coworkers, and other Beaches Town Center employees, but she hopes city leaders are able to quickly act on their word.
“It’s turning into something that is out of our control, and we need to do something about it,” said Meyer.
Mayor Bylund told us the city will reevaluate the raised parking rates for the Beaches Town Center next month and decide whether to lower them or not. She also said that the city council will start talking about creating better employee parking options during their meeting scheduled for January 5th.
[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]
[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.