Gulfport mulls transitioning to paid, timed parking

GULFPORT, Fla. — The city of Gulfport is considering moving forward with paid or timed parking in the city’s waterfront district, but Gulfport’s mayor says she won’t entertain the idea until she hears from residents first.

A city workshop regarding potential parking changes will take place Thursday at 6 p.m. at Gulfport City Hall. Mayor Karen Love will open the discussion to members of the Gulfport City Council to allow them to share their individual thoughts, before opening the floor to residents and business owners.

“We need to have a discussion where our residents can come up and tell us what they’re thinking,” Love said.

No decision will be made at Thursday night’s workshop, but Love said she plans to take the ideas and concerns raised and use that information to create any future possible proposals.

“It’s also possible the parking conversation will end after the workshop,” she said.

The conversation regarding whether the city should move to paid or timed parking started a few months ago as a different concern. Some residents who live by the city’s waterfront say homeless people have started living and camping in their cars right outside their front doors.

A resident named Katie — who asked to be identified by her first name due to the sensitive nature of the situation — said it’s become too much.

“I’ve seen them naked — indecent exposure, right there in front of me,” she said.

During a city meeting in August, the city’s social worker told council members that he’s made contact with the people encamped by the city lots, and many have refused help. He said that while a few people were grateful for health care resources, many did not want assistance from the city.

Katie said she thinks timed parking would help reduce the number of people camping by the waterfront. At the same time, though, she doesn’t want it to impact those who are visiting restaurants and businesses.

“If we could have three or four hours given to those people, then I think people would still come,” she said. “But they wouldn’t be staying overnight or living in the spots.”

Gulfport resident Nancy Poucher sees it differently — she said the welcoming and creative aspect of the small city is what makes it special.

“It’s a fun, quirky art community, but it’s really the people and how they care for one another,” she said.

Having lost her home during Hurricane Helene, Poucher doesn’t want to deter anything from attracting visitors to the area.

“It just seems like a really difficult time to limit parking spaces in town,” she said. “You want as many people coming to Gulfport as possible.”