One would think that any city along the Gulf Coast of Florida in the Tampa Bay area would try to be…read moreas friendly to its visitors as possible, given all these cities are competing with each other. They all want as large a piece as possible of the visitor dollar pie, whether it be room nights in the hotels and associated bed taxes, locals staycationing or day tripping and generating sales tax revenue, people passing through while going up or down the beaches, etc.
Well, if that seems logical to you, you haven't experienced Treasure Island. TI's government, and by extension police department, seem intent on wringing anything they can out of visitors. There effectively is no more public parking; it's all metered, even spots nowhere near the beach. Beyond parking is the police, who I can only assume work on citation quotas because they will pull you over and ticket you if you do absolutely anything that can be considered a moving violation, no leeway, no warnings. One mile over the speed limit? Ticket. Incomplete stop, ticket. Non-moving violations are even worse; park an inch outside of a space, stay a minute past the meter, park your car facing the wrong direction (i.e. right wheels must be on the curb side per TI statute), believe me, you're going to get a ticket. Never had a ticket there before? Doesn't matter, first time offender means first time revenue source for TI, not someone to give a break to.
Want to know how serious they are about writing tickets? They don't even handle the process beyond pushing a button as they walk past each violator; they use software and hardware from a company called Complus Data Innovations, Inc. who advises "We offer the most comprehensive and efficient computerized parking ticket software and parking citation system available to municipalities". Yep, TI has a very 'efficient' ticket writing operation; they should be proud.
If you receive a ticket, you only have 15 days to pay or the fine doubles. Want to pay it online? Sure, add on a $3.50 fee per ticket. Even if you pay by check, they don't handle that themselves either, they simply write too many tickets to keep up with. Your check will be going to Complus up in Tarrytown, New York. Complus brags about how good they are at collecting your money, "CDI clients enjoy parking violation collection rates as high as 96%. Outsource parking enforcement with the most comprehensive, full service Parking Ticket Management solution available and together we'll make your collection rates soar."
Awesome, TI's collection rates are clearly soaring!
Anyway, beyond the 'great' interactions with the police, TI is even considering adding tolls to get into the city on the main Central Avenue road. That is telling; let's charge people just for the privilege of driving into TI.
Given there's only one modern hotel in the city, and perhaps two decent restaurants, I'd recommend looking elsewhere if you're trying to decide where to vacation, the downsides and attitude of the city towards its visitors just leave a bad taste. You can get far more variety and bang for your buck in St Pete Beach a couple miles south, Pass-A-Grille (part of St Pete Beach), Madeira Beach to the north, or even Clearwater Beach if you're looking for a resort-style experience.