Winter Park scraps plan for paid parking at Lake Baldwin Park
Lake Baldwin Park
WINTER PARK, Fla. - The city of Winter Park is shelving plans for paid parking at one of its popular parks.
Earlier this month, city commissioners voted to move forward with a pilot program that would require paid parking at Dinky Dock Park and Lake Baldwin Park for non-residents.
However, on Tuesday, the city said it was removing Lake Baldwin Park—which is where the dog park is located—from the proposed plans.
Winter Park changes paid parking plans
According to a news release, the city said staff was recently made aware of the Baldwin Park Settlement Agreement, signed in 2002, which requires Winter Park and Orlando residents to have equal access to the Lake Baldwin parks.
"If the pilot program went forward at Lake Baldwin Park, Orlando residents would need to be exempted from the park fee the same as Winter Park residents, which administratively would be a larger undertaking," city manager Randy Knight said in a statement.
The city will still move forward with the pilot program for Dinky Dock.
Paid parking pilot program
Under the proposed paid parking program, residents could get free parking after registering their vehicles through a new online portal.
Non-residents would use a cashless system to pay for parking through QR codes or a mobile app on their phones.
The city has said the program would help manage demand at the parks and generate revenue that can be used for local services and infrastructure projects.
An ordinance for the pilot program is expected to go before city commissioners in October.
If approved, the pilot program would begin in spring 2027.
The Source: This story was written with information released by the City of Winter Park and from previous FOX 35 reporting.