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Downtown Tampa parking times up for discussion

Posted at 6:41 PM, Jan 24, 2018
and last updated 2018-01-24 18:41:34-05

The parking situation could be keeping customers away from a downtown Tampa eatery..

"They definitely say it's an obstacle to come down here,” said Charles Rumph.

The line at Farmacy Vegan Kitchen and Bakery goes quickly.

"We are a grab and go cafe so it makes perfect sense that people are here a max of ten minutes," said Rumph.

"It's cumbersome. It's more expensive than it should be. I'm only going to run in and run out,” he explained.

Small business owner Charles Rumph is in favor of changing minimum parking fees in downtown Tampa.

Right now, if you want to run a quick errand in downtown Tampa, you're still going to have to pay a two hour parking minimum, even if you're only going to be inside for 15 minutes.

Now those minimum parking prices are up for discussion.

Tampa City Council is looking at tailoring fees for people who don't want to pay for time they don't need.

"Maybe if there was an express parking on each street,” said one driver.

Rumph says offering less expensive minimum parking would help his businesses as well as many others but it would also help customers who want what they want without paying for parking or getting a ticket.

"I think people like to play Russian Roulette with the meters because the principle of paying an hour when they needed 15 minutes seems ridiculous,” he said.