Parking in downtown Jacksonville can be quite expensive, especially when opting for a private lot. One driver is now puzzled about having to shell out over $100 for just over an hour of parking.
On Monday, the private parking lot on Forsyth Street witnessed a high volume of visitors seeking downtown parking.
This particular lot operates without an attendant, requiring patrons to text their information and credit card number upon parking, specifying their intended duration.
Kia Broderson followed these steps but ended up paying a significantly higher amount than she had expected.
“I just went to park after work to get some drinks and I paid on the app, like it said I was supposed to. Paid for about an hour, I wasn’t sure how long we were gonna be there. I was there for an hour and 29 minutes and they charged me $109 for 29 extra minutes, and it was also 15 bucks an hour to park. So it was a little bit excessive,” Broderson said.
Broderson mentioned receiving a notification by mail, informing her that she had surpassed her allotted parking time and now owed a fee. The notice indicated that her car could be booted or towed if the payment wasn’t made promptly. Despite not wanting to contest the issue, Kia decided to pay the fee and wanted to alert others to be cautious.
The parking facility is managed by Elite Parking, with numerous signs emphasizing the importance of adhering to the rules and clarifying that free parking is not allowed.
A person named Tom Smith said that, “I don’t think it’s fair. I think they should at least charge maybe a little bit more than the going rate. But they shouldn’t charge an exorbitant amount. They said there was really no recourse.”
