Parking woes plague neighbors of East End Market

WINTER PARK, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - Carmel Bohlen and her family have been living in the neighborhood behind the East End Market for 20 years. She and her neighbors are putting ‘no parking’ signs in their yards to keep their streets clear when people flock to the market.

“When it's bad,” Bohlen explained, “there's no parking in any of their spots, there's few parking in front of our homes, and then they start pulling into our driveways.”

Bohlen said the market tries to be a good neighbor, but that doesn't account for all their customers.

“People are just parking everywhere,” Antonio Bauer, another neighbor, complained, “who knows what's happening, who comes here, who doesn't? They leave behind a lot of trash and a lot of stuff not even worth mentioning.”

"We do our best to encourage our customers not to park on the residential streets,” said the market's owner, John Rife, “whether they are legally allowed to park there or not." 

“I think it's making our home values go up because of the walkability and the attractions of our neighborhood,” added Kristina Davis, who also lives nearby.

A church next door has overflow parking customers can use and neighbors said their signs have helped, but they're looking for a more permanent fix.

“We want to try and make this work and just hope that all the people that do come to the community respect us as much as we respect them,” Bohlen said.

The City of Winter Park says it's legal for people to park along the street, and they are working with the people in the neighborhood to find a solution.