A settlement agreement from 24 years ago is stopping Winter Park from instituting a pilot program to require paid parking at a popular park.
The city wanted to institute a six-month paid parking pilot for Lake Baldwin Park and Dinky Dock. Parking at both locations is currently free to all, but the program would have required nonresidents to pay. The city did not say how much it would consider charging at the time.
However, the city now says the Baldwin Park Settlement Agreement, which was signed in 2002, requires both Winter Park and Orlando residents to have equal access to Lake Baldwin area parks.
[WATCH: Winter Park to discuss paid parking pilot for visitors at Dinky Dock, Lake Baldwin Park]
In a release sent to News 6, city manager Randy Knight said the agreement meant the city would have had to exempt Orlando residents from the parking fee as well.
“Which administratively would be a larger undertaking,” Knight said in the release. “As a result of this document and input received from citizens, the city is removing Lake Baldwin Park from the Pay for Parking Pilot Program.”
The proposed fee drew opposition from people who use the park, including Erik Paul, president of Friends of Winter Park Dog Park. The nonprofit helps maintain the dog park, where Paul said he brings his five dogs several times a day.
“They fill in holes, they wash the dog wash station on a daily basis. They clean bowls out there, doing quite a bit — cleaning out the pavilions, since they don’t get attended to except for two times a month,” Paul said.
Paul said the park should remain accessible to everyone.
“This is a park for everyone, and we want to keep it that way,” he said.
While Lake Baldwin Park’s playground, dog park and walking trail will remain free for parking, the city will continue with the pilot program for Dinky Dock, which is a lake access point for boaters and kayakers.
Nonresidents would have to access a cashless system through their phones to pay for parking. The city says the program could reduce congestion and generate revenue to be used for other projects.
The city says the pilot program ordinance will go before the city commission in October.
If approved, the program could go online next spring.