Parking
Beach Parking
On beach parking at Seaside Beach (Sadler Road) will not be permitted from 9:00 pm - 6:00 am year round. Hours for public beach access parking lots are posted accordingly.
Downtown Parking
Public parking can be found along most side streets downtown as well as in public parking lots.
On-street parking is available in the historic district with a 3-hour time limit from 7am-7pm. Downtown Fernandina has several locations for public parking which are exempt from the 3-hour time limit for on-street parking.
The City's Public Parking Lots are located at:
- S. 4th Street (between Ash Street and Centre Street)
- N. 2nd Street at Alachua Street
- N. 2nd Street at Broome Street
- N. 3rd Street at Alachua Street
- N. 5th Street between Centre Street and Alachua Street
- S. 2nd Street at Ash Street across from City Hall
- City Hall Parking lot at S. 2nd Street and Ash Street (Weekdays: After 5pm and All-day on the weekends)
- Front Street (Parking Lots A-D) adjacent to the City Marina
- Lot D contains parking for boat trailers and oversize vehicles (No overnight parking is permitted)
Parking Tips
Always use caution when driving through the downtown area.
- Follow posted signage regarding maximum parking times
- Be aware of one-way streets
- Watch for pedestrians
- Allow a minimum of 10 feet for traffic lanes when on-street parking
- Do not cross traffic to park your vehicle
- Semi-trailer trucks must use posted routes for deliveries
- Use caution when backing up
- Almost 50% of all traffic crashes in Fernandina Beach occur when a vehicle is being backed out from a parking space
- Note that special parking regulations may be in effect during holidays and special events
Parking Fines
Overtime Parking (3 hours): $50.00
Handicap Parking Violation: $250.00
Loading Zone Violation: $50.00
A complete set of ordinances can be found on MuniCode.
Downtown Parking Studies and Reference Guides
A committee led by Police Chief, James Hurley and including Fleet/Facilities Director, Jeremiah Glisson; Streets and Parks Maintenance Director; Rex A. Lester, Stormwater Director, Andre Desilet; and Senior Planner, Kelly Gibson will provide an update to the referenced documents and offer recommendations related to downtown parking to the City Commission at the City Commission’s Regular Meeting on Tuesday, August 1, 2017.
Several previous parking studies and efforts have been completed by the City. The following links contain the studies as well as reference materials related to the topic of parking.
2000 Supply/Demand Update and Alternatives Analysis: Walker Parking Consultants
2002 Parking Master Plan - Phase 1: Walker Parking Consultants
2009 Traffic Circulation and Parking Study: Zev Cohen and Associates
2009 Front Street Title Opinion: Kavanaugh
2010 Paid Parking Workshop Presentation
2014 Traffic Circulation Presentation
1999-2013 Summary of Waterfront Planning Efforts
The High Cost of Free Parking: Donald Shoup
Cruising for Parking: Donald Shoup
Walkable Streets | Solving Downtown Parking: Dom Nozzi, AICP
Paying for On-street Parking: Metropolitan Area Planning Council
Parking Podcast Audio: Freakonomics by Katherine Wells or transcript
2017 Downtown Parking PowerPoint Presentation
Parking In the News
Over the years, there have been several news articles, editorials, and testimonies related to parking in the local news outlets. The following are some of more recent viewpoints along with a few older excerpts.
July 2017: Chief Hurley Viewpoint (Part 2 of 2)
July 2017: Chief Hurley Viewpoint (Part 1 of 2)
2017 Letter to theEditor: Vauzanges
2017 Letter to the Editor: Chapman
May 2017 Committee to Study Parking
March 2015 - Police Chief Parking
1947 City Commission meeting minutes - Paid Parking Discussion