UPDATE: City Council voted to DOUBLE downtown parking rates. We have until June 8 to be heard!
Friends, supporters, downtown neighbors,
On Monday, May 11th, the Orlando City Council passed the first reading of an ordinance that will double on-street parking rates from $1 to $2 per hour, raise garage rates from $2 to $3 per hour, double event parking caps to $20, extend enforcement two extra hours to 8 p.m., and increase violation fees across the board.
This ordinance comes back for a second and final vote on Monday, June 8. If it passes, rates take effect October 1, 2026.
We have less than four weeks to be heard.
What's actually in the proposal
On-street parking: $1 → $2 per hour (100% increase)
Garages and lots: $2 → $3 per hour (50% increase)
Event parking cap: $10 → $20 (100% increase)
Monthly parking passes: +$10
Enforcement hours: extended from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. (the dinner hour)
Violation fees: $27 → $32 standard, $37 → $57 "life & safety"
The city projects this will generate $5.5 million per year, $20 million over five years.
Why this hurts downtown Orlando (and only downtown again):
Small businesses are already leaving. A downtown business owner told News 6 last week that parking is the "prime reason" he's relocating out of downtown. That's before rates double.
The dinner-hour tax. Extending enforcement to 8 p.m. directly targets the highest-volume window for downtown restaurants. A two-top deciding between a downtown dinner and Mills 50, Audubon Park, or Winter Park now factors $8–$12 in parking versus zero everywhere else.
Accessibility goes backwards. The transition to cashless and meterless parking, flagged by Commissioner Patty Sheehan as her only objection, leaves seniors, the unbanked, tourists without data plans, and anyone unfamiliar with the apps exposed to a $57 ticket for not understanding the technology. The courthouse, the central library, the health department, downtown churches, and downtown medical offices all serve these exact populations.
Family-friendly downtown gets more expensive. Event parking doubling to $20 hits Magic games, Solar Bears, Pride, Dr. Phillips Center programming, festivals, and conferences which is the family programming the city says it wants to grow. Park DTO doesn't fix it. Two free hours covers a coffee, not a dinner, not a show, not a layered downtown visit. Sixteen codes per account per year runs out fast.
The equity problem nobody is talking about
Orlando has 11 Main Street districts. Downtown is the only one absorbing this stack of policy interventions:
- Paid parking enforcement: Downtown only. Audubon Park, Mills 50, College Park, Ivanhoe, Milk District, Thornton Park, SoDo, Curry Ford West, and Parramore all have free on-street parking with no city enforcement.
- Enhanced parking lot security coding (lighting, posted contact info, site plan approval): Imposed downtown in 2022. No equivalent in any other Main Street district.
- AMS lump-sum monthly police billing: Downtown only. Late-night venues elsewhere face no equivalent burden regardless of police call volume.
- Six-month nightclub moratorium: Downtown core only. New nightlife concepts can open anywhere else in the city without restriction.
Downtown is being treated as a revenue center to be optimized. Every other Main Street district is treated as a neighborhood to be nurtured. Both are Main Street districts. Both deserve the same policy posture.
🚨 WHAT YOU CAN DO RIGHT NOW
The June 8 vote will be decided by seven people. They each have a public email address. Most of them have never heard from a downtown resident, worker, or patron on this issue. Your voice matters more than you think.
Pick one of these options:
- Option 1: Email all seven at once (fastest)
👉 Click here to email Mayor Dyer and all six commissioners - Option 2: Email each commissioner individually
- ⭐ Patty Sheehan, District 4 - Central Business District, Lake Eola, Thornton Park, downtown core
Your downtown commissioner already raised cashless concerns publicly. Reinforce her position. patty.sheehan@orlando.gov - ⭐ Shan Rose, District 5 - Parramore, west downtown, Pine Hills, Metro West Represents Parramore and the western edge of downtown. Her constituents are hit too. district5@orlando.gov
- Bakari F. Burns, District 6 - West Orlando, Washington Shores
Has not publicly committed either way. bakari.burns@orlando.gov - Roger Chapin, District 3 - North Quarter, College Park, Ivanhoe, Audubon Park
Framed the increase as a "reorganization." Needs to hear from people who drive downtown from his district. roger.chapin@orlando.gov - Tom Keen, District 1 - Lake Nona, southeast Orlando
Newer commissioner. Has not publicly committed. tom.keen@orlando.gov - Tony Ortiz, District 2 - Semoran corridor, east Orlando
Has not publicly committed. tony.ortiz@orlando.gov - Mayor Buddy Dyer At-large
Sets the administration's position. buddy.dyer@orlando.gov
⭐ = Your primary downtown commissioners. Email them first if you only do a few. Patty Sheehan is already on record with concerns - let's reinforce her!
- Option 3: Show up in person
The second reading is Monday, June 8, 2026 at Orlando City Hall, 400 S. Orange Avenue. City Council meetings start at 2:00 p.m. Public comment is open to anyone. Three minutes is enough to change a vote.
📋 Copy-paste email template
If the "email all seven" link doesn't work in your email client, here's the full template to copy and send manually:
Subject: Please vote NO on the downtown parking rate increase on June 8
Dear Mayor Dyer and Commissioners,
I am writing to ask you to vote NO on the downtown parking rate ordinance at the second reading on June 8, or to amend it substantially before final passage.
I support a modern, well-maintained downtown parking system. I do not support doubling on-street rates, doubling event parking caps, and extending enforcement into the dinner hour all at once, while no other Main Street district in Orlando carries comparable burdens.
Here is why this matters to me:
[Add one or two sentences here about how this affects you personally — as a resident, business owner, worker, diner, event attendee, senior, or visitor. This is the most important part of your email.]
Specific concerns with the current proposal:
A downtown business owner has already publicly cited parking as the "prime reason" they are leaving downtown. That is before rates double.
Extending enforcement to 8 p.m. is a direct tax on downtown restaurants during their peak hours. Customers will choose Mills 50, Audubon Park, Thornton Park, or Winter Park instead.
The cashless/meterless transition disproportionately harms seniors, the unbanked, tourists without data plans, and anyone unfamiliar with the payment apps. A $57 violation for not understanding the technology is unacceptable.
Doubling event parking to $20 penalizes Magic games, Dr. Phillips Center, festivals, Pride, and family programming — exactly the events the city says it wants to grow.
Downtown is already absorbing AMS fees, the nightclub moratorium, weapons detection requirements, and enhanced parking lot security coding that no other Main Street district faces. Downtown cannot be the only district treated as a revenue center.
Reasonable alternatives I would support:
Phase the rate increase over two years instead of one
Keep enforcement at 6 p.m., not 8 p.m.
Hold event parking at $15 maximum
Expand Park DTO codes to 24 per account and extend the free window to three hours
Create a small-business validation program for Main Street members
Apply equivalent regulatory frameworks across all 11 Main Street districts, or apply none
Please stand with downtown small businesses, workers, residents, and visitors on June 8.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your neighborhood or business]
[Your phone number]
ONE LAST REQUEST
- Share this update. Text it to one downtown friend. Post it to your neighborhood group. Tag the businesses you love downtown. Council members count emails, but they count voters paying attention even more.
We have less than four weeks. The vote happens on June 8. Downtown is worth fighting for.
Thank you for being part of this.