Cape Coral's Jaycee Park opens with limited parking for grand event

CAPE CORAL, Fla. (WINK)—Jaycee Park is open but concerns over parking availability loom ahead of Saturday's grand opening.

The city announced parking at Jaycee Park will be reserved for guests with disabilities. Everyone else will need to start at an off-site lot and take a shuttle in.

The ribbon is cut, and Jaycee Park is open, but the real test lies ahead with the parking lot. Alexis Barth and her five kids are finally enjoying Jaycee Park's new perks, but Barth experienced problems finding parking.

"We had trouble finding parking today for today's event when we came," Barth said. "So I think this park with all the stuff it has now is gonna draw a lot of people, so that might be a little troublesome."

Barth said she was told there was no parking and had to turn around and park down the street. Mayor John Gunter said the city saw that problem coming.

"We come up with a great plan in order to try to minimize the impact for tomorrow's event," Gunter said.

A map shows five off-site parking areas. The city said the first two lots are the main event parking lots, and the other three are overflow lots.

Councilman Steinke believes the plan can work, but families aren't so sure. "I don't think you're gonna have to worry about being shoulder to shoulder with people," Steinke said. "I think we've made fabulous accommodations with five different lots to accommodate the cars."

Barth expressed continued concerns about future events. "If they're continuing to host big events, parking will continue to be an issue," Barth said.

The city said Cape Coral police and signs will be set up Saturday to direct people to the off-site lots, shuttle stops, and the drop-off area at the park.