Cheap parking, free parking and decal parking

Grove Activist Sandra Speier-Roche (far left) and Alejandra Argudin, Chief Development Officer from the Miami Parking Authority (MPA) shared their new parking plans with the Village Council last night at the Ransom Everglades Middle School auditorium.

A new pilot program, starting February 1 will allow Grove residents to purchase yearly parking decals for $200.00. With this, a resident can park in the Center Grove without paying the meters from 10 am to 6 pm, Monday through Friday. On nights and weekends, parking at the Oak Avenue Garage will be free with the decal.

Only one decal per family will be permitted during this trial period and only 100 decals will be given out during the trial period.

Cars will be monitored and none can park more than four hours in any one spot. Little dots or chalk marks on the tires will help the MPA attendants to keep track.

To get in on this, you will have to go to the MPA office downtown (190 NE 3rd Street). For more info, please call 305-373-6789.

Sandy Speier-Roche deserves all the credit for this. It was her idea for the Grove to have decal parking long ago, she worked tirelessly with the MPA over the past year or so and had never given up, even though the plan fell apart so many times. If it wasn't for all the bureaucracy, this would have been in place in July, but finally seven months later, the plan is in place.

More parking news: People who work in the Grove can get a special rate of $25.00 per month at the Oak Avenue Garage. See the parking attendant for that.

Another great thing is half price parking at the meters. This is the case after 6 pm if you pay by phone. The cost would drop from $1.50 per hour to only .75 per hour. Or for $2.00, you get four hours at the meters after 6 pm. During the day, if you pay by phone, there is a 20% discount, bringing the $1.50 per hour down to $1.20 per hour.