A persistent Bad Parking problem has forced officials to spend $35,000 on landscaping at the Sawgrass Grove entertainment venue in The Villages.
Sawgrass Grove, which features McGrady’s Pub and the Box Car Stage, has rapidly developed a following since opening this past fall. Golf cart parking quickly became a problem when Villagers began parking on a grassy area never intended for parking. With the drought and the beating taken from golf carts on a daily basis, the turf has been severely damaged.
Project Wide Advisory Committee members on Monday learned the new landscaping at Sawgrass Grove will cost about $35,000. The intent is to block the area where golf carts have been parked.
“We didn’t think about putting up ‘No Parking’ signs?” asked PWAC member Steve Bova, a supervisor from Community Development District 10. “Spending $35,000 for bad behavior is a little offensive to me.”
District Manager Kenny Blocker said experience has shown that “signs don’t work.”
Even though there are more than 200 parking spots, including eight handicapped spots, between Sawgrass Grove and the adjacent Ezell Recreation Center, parking appears to have developed into a problem at the venue which has quickly grown in popularity.
