City officials have opened two parking lots in downtown Ocala for public use, adding more than 100 parking spaces to the city’s offering in that area.
According to a statement issued by the city, beginning Tuesday, October 1, two parking lots will now be open for public use:
- Parking Lot 5, which is located at the northeast corner of N Magnolia Avenue and NE 1st Street
- Parking Lot 9, which is located at the northeast corner of W Fort King Street and SW 1st Avenue
Throughout the month of October, both parking lots will be free to the public.
While Parking Lot 5 will continue to be free for public use after that, beginning Friday, November 1, Parking Lot 9 will charge a rate of $0.75 per hour for each parking space.
According to the city, the lots add 106 new parking spaces to the downtown inventory.
The change comes amidst several other similar changes made by city officials in recent months to improve the public parking offering in downtown Ocala.
In September, the city hosted two public meetings to discuss the construction of the second parking garage in downtown Ocala, which is scheduled to begin in October.
In June, the Ocala City Council agreed to make Parking Lot 7, which is located at the intersection of SW 1st Avenue and W Broadway Street, open to the public.
Parking Lot 7 officially opened to the public for free use in July and remained free throughout the Summer. It will remain open to the public indefinitely, but will have a meter installed in the coming months.
In addition to Parking Lot 7, the city opened the Marion Theatre lot this Summer and incorporated more parking at the intersection of W Fort King Street and SW 3rd Avenue in April.
In addition to the new lots now open to the public downtown, the city also offers free parking at Parking Garage One, which is located at 296 Broadway Street.
Metered spaces are enforced Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and are located all across the city’s downtown area. All meters that are situated south of State Road 40 cost $1.25 per hour. All meters that are situated north of State Road 40 cost $0.75 per hour.
