Gulfport Downtown Traffic, Speed, and Parking Workshop - March 26, 2026
Gulfport Downtown Traffic, Speed, and Parking Workshop - March 26, 2026
Mayor Karen Love convened a workshop (not a city council meeting) to discuss traffic flow, speed limits, and parking in downtown Gulfport. She presented a layman’s plan developed over ten years, emphasizing three goals: reduce speeds, increase parking without building a garage, and prepare for future growth. The meeting included a presentation, council discussion, and extensive public comment.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Residents of 54th and 56th Streets (multiple speakers) opposed angled parking on their streets, citing safety concerns (headlights into homes, backing out), loss of trees and gardens, difficulty for mail delivery and garbage pickup, and potential decrease in property values. Many supported reducing speed limits and making streets one-way but not angled parking.
- Byron (business owner) urged against designated parking that would remove spots in front of his restaurant, advocated for time limits on Beach Boulevard parking, and expressed support for a parking garage between the library and senior center.
- Barbara Banno (business owner) supported speed reduction but asked for a study of economic impact on small businesses before implementing changes.
- Ingrid Bredenberg (resident) praised the clarity and process of the workshop, supporting designated parking and the plan’s focus on future demographics.
- Doug Porter (resident) listed specific concerns: loss of trees, driveway access, mail delivery, garbage pickup, and enforcement. He requested direct one‑on‑one communication with residents.
- Mickey Holzel (resident) worried about difficulty exiting 54th Street during busy times if it becomes one‑way.
- Angie Felice (resident) opposed angled parking on 54th because of headlight intrusion and argued that removing resident‑only signs would free 200+ spots without further changes.
- Kelly (resident) supported one‑way on 56th for safety but opposed angled parking there, and questioned the value of dedicated golf‑cart spaces.
- Linda Porter (resident) emphasized the need for a committee and more resident input before any decisions, noting that the plan was not adequately communicated to neighbors.
- Dean Pike (resident) raised issues with diagonal parking affecting boat access and driveway egress, and questioned enforcement of parking lines.
Discussion Items
- Mayor Love’s Presentation: She proposed reducing the speed limit on Beach and Shore from 25 mph to 20 mph; eliminating resident‑only parking (9 a.m.–5 p.m.) on the west side of town (currently impacting ~253 spots); making 54th Street southbound and 56th Street northbound; making 29th and 31st Avenues eastbound and 30th, Delette, and Essex westbound; making Shore Boulevard from 54th to Beach westbound; adding angled parking where possible to increase spaces; and creating designated parking (handicap, golf carts, motorcycles) on Beach Boulevard. She noted that an unscientific employee survey estimated 125–150 employees parking downtown daily, excluding several new and upcoming businesses. She also mentioned applying for free professional planning assistance from the Florida Community Planning Assist Team (deadline April 30).
- Councilmember Donch: Supported speed reduction and eliminating resident‑only parking. Expressed concerns about angled parking on residential streets (loss of neighborhood feel, visibility triangles) and about the proposed 15‑minute parking locations being too close to delivery zones and alleys.
- Councilmember Shaw: Supported speed reduction and eliminating resident‑only parking. Wanted expert input on one‑way streets, especially regarding alley access for residents and emergency vehicles. Had “heartburn” about angled parking on narrow streets (e.g., 56th) and near houses on 54th. Emphasized the importance of resident input and surveys.
- Councilmember Early: Supported speed reduction (maybe to even lower than 20 mph), liked angled parking as a way to add spaces, and asked about the current resident‑only parking hours. She recommended including small business impact as a fourth goal and suggested exploring time limits on parking to prevent all‑day occupancy.
Key Outcomes
- Consensus: Reducing speed limits on Beach and Shore (and potentially other streets) was widely supported by council and public. There was general openness to making 54th and 56th one‑way streets, but strong opposition to angled parking on those residential streets.
- Mayor Love’s Plan: She acknowledged feedback and will incorporate council and public comments into a revised proposal to be brought to a future city council meeting for a formal decision on whether to advance the plan to professional consultants or the proposed planning assistance program.
- Next Steps: Mayor Love will present a refined proposal at a regular council meeting. She also noted an application for the Florida Community Planning Assist Team is due by April 30. Council members encouraged further resident surveys and direct communication.
Meeting Transcript
And if you don't have good eyes, come up towards the front a little bit because we do have these blown up maps for you. We want you to see uh what's going on. We want you to hear and understand, and we want your input. So I'm calling this uh workshop, and just to be clear, to make sure you're in the right meeting. This is a workshop, not a city council meeting, and this whole workshop is going to be about one issue and one issue only, and that'll be to talk about the uh traffic flow, speed limits, and parking in the downtown area. So if you thought that this was on Nordic walking, you're in the wrong meeting. Okay. So with that in mind, um, can we have a roll call? Councilmember Donch here. Council Member Shaw, present. Councilmember Early, present. Mayor Love here. City Manager O'Reilly. City Clerk Carico is present. Councilmember Webb has asked to be excused. All right. So if you find the map is distract distracting, just realize that in a few minutes I'm gonna be down there and I'm gonna be walking everybody through those maps, and I want for you to be able to see them so that when it gets to conversation discussion, you'll be clear on what we're talking about. So the way this meeting's gonna happen tonight is I'm gonna say a couple words now, and then I'm gonna drop down there and I'm gonna be talking to my council, and I'm gonna be walking them through this uh presentation, and I'm gonna be addressing slide one, slide two, and slide three. Following that, the council will then have a discussion, and then uh it will be open for public comment. Public comment will follow the same format as always. You have three minutes. We're not talking about anything other than this what's in the room tonight. We're not talking about other uh items tonight. And we'll take in everything that we hear have hear you say and see if this is something that's gonna end up moving forward, getting revamped or being put in the toilet. I mean, we just don't know that answer yet right now. So um, yes, I've heard the rumors. I've read the rumors. I've gotten hate mail. I've also gotten a lot of people saying they really like what I'm trying to do, but they might think of a way that it can be improved a little bit, okay? And that's what we're here for. So I wanted to answer the question why. These are things that are reiterated over and over and over, okay. And I've heard from businesses, residents, and visitors all that we need to address this issue. Now there's never been a consensus on how to address it. All right. Um I even had uh uh somebody say that I should be shot for calling such a meeting, okay. Now I'm sorry, but I think that that's my job is to be proactive and get people talking and raising issues, and that's what I'm trying to do. Um of course, what we got from that meeting was a resounding no, we don't want time parking, we don't want paid parking, and we don't want a garage. Um, as I go to meetings outside of the city of Gulfport, and I'm very fortunate I've been able to travel around the state and go to and see other cities and other meetings and and different organizations. There is definitely no if, ands or buts. The trend these days is to making our cities, our small cities much more pedestrian and bike friendly. There's no doubt about that. So those are things that kind of were all coming at me at once. Okay. Again, I sat out there for 12 years. I heard many, many conversations about, well, let's do a traffic study, let's do this study, let's do that study, and I never saw one happen in all the years that I sat out on that side. So another thing I just want to, I'm just giving you a quick overview, and then I'll go into talking about this specific thing. The last parking improvements that I'm been aware of in the city of Golfport, I believe happened in 2015 and 2016. So 2015 was when we paved and created what we now call as our beach parking lot. For those of you that have been around longer, remember that was a gravel pit it rudd it, no uh defined spaces.
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