Three years after removing park benches in an attempt to rid Five Points Park of homeless people, city commissioners unanimously voted Monday night to explore the idea of reintroducing them.
“Removing benches does not stop those who are not compliant from frequenting the park. They just lie around now instead of sitting down,” said Peter Fanning, who spoke before the commission on behalf of the Downtown Sarasota Alliance Residents Committee and the Downtown Sarasota Condominium Association.
“Put the benches back in the park,” Fanning said.
Commissioners agreed the benches’ removal did little to hinder unwanted or illegal activities in the popular downtown park, across the street from the Selby Public Library. But, they said, reintroducing the seats doesn’t solve the problem, either.
Commissioner Susan Chapman suggested the city provide more organized activities in the park to draw more law-abiding citizens, thus making everyone feel safer.
City Manager Tom Barwin said the staff already has experimented with seating options, like tables and chairs, instead of benches. He also said he has been in talks with the nearby Starbucks about the possibility of the coffee shop extending its own seating into the park.
“We would experiment and make sure we’re coordinating with the neighborhood,” Barwin said. “We want to make sure we can do this in harmony.”
Five Points is among several parks included in the city’s list of improvement areas on which it will spend a portion of its $2.1 million in BP oil spill settlement money. It’s unclear what improvements might be recommended for Five Points, but benches likely will figure into the equation.
“The city needs to send a message that we’re going to be proactive,” Vice Mayor Suzanne Atwell said. “Three years ago we were reactive. Putting benches, seating, whatever you want to call it — let’s just get the benches back