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The first Fresh Friday event of 2022 could get an earlier start in hopes of steering more visitors into downtown shops.

Business owners and community members complain that the homeless and panhandlers are harassing visitors downtown.

9 hours ago Share Although city officials and property owners have expressed a desire to redesign two key downtown blocks, merchants aren’t happy with the prospect of losing parking spaces. A group of downtown business owners is asking the city not to proceed with a plan to widen sidewalks in the 1400 and 1500 blocks of Main Street by replacing angled parking with a reduced number of parallel parking spaces. Although the project is still in the conceptual stage, merchants on the blocks are raising concerns about shrinking the on-street parking supply. Darci Jacob, the owner ...

3 weeks ago Share From Main Street parallel parking to a garage at the SCAT transfer station site, merchants and property owners are discussing long-term strategies for reshaping the city’s commercial center. Mark Kauffman knows the idea is ambitious, but he thinks it’s worth the time and effort to fully explore it — and perhaps make it a reality. Kauffman, a downtown property owner and member of the Downtown Improvement District, sees an opportunity to dramatically reshape the 1500 block of First Street, home to City Hall and the Sarasota County Area Transit bus transfe...