Tampa, Florida -- A popular Bayshore Blvd. parking lot at Bay to Bay Blvd. is closing Sunday due to construction, and many frequenters of the Bayshore fitness trail are frustrated. Parking options are limited along Bayshore Blvd., but there are some lesser known available alternatives for those willing to switch up their routine.
There is a parking lot across the street from Hyde Park Pl. on the fitness trail side of Bayshore Blvd. Most people know it as the lot in front of the giant pirate ship, although the ship isn't always docked. It is on the northeast end of the street just before the Davis Islands Bridge.
At the southern end of the the trail, on Interbay Blvd., is Ballast Point Park. Parking there is free, and the lots are only about a quarter mile off of Bayshore Blvd. It's an easy trek for anyone visiting Bayshore Blvd. to exercise.
At the corner of S. Rome and S. Swann Avenues is Hyde Park Village where there are two public parking garages. Hyde Park Village is about a five block trek off Bayshore Blvd. if you walk along S. Dakota Avenue. This isn't the most convenient option, but it is a better possibility than chancing street parking and the possibility of being towed. If you do choose to park at Hyde Park Village, consider patronizing one of the local businesses, as that is the purpose for the lots.
There is also a sand parking lot on Bayshore Blvd. at Rubideaux St. (next to the Tampa Garden Club)
Tampa City officials are also awaiting legal approval to designate two other normally private lots for public use. When that approval is granted, the locations of those two lots will be posted.
