By Mary Hladky
Boca Raton officials said they intended to make it quicker and simpler to park at three city beaches.
But their proposed changes caused widespread confusion and anger, prompting Mayor Scott Singer to pull the matter from the June 10 City Council agenda.
Delaying a council vote, he said on Facebook, would give city staff time to explain its recommendations and to provide additional information to residents.
The city simply is proposing to upgrade its parking technology, he said. Annual beach parking permits will remain and there will be no change to the cost of those permits or the daily parking rates paid by non-permit holders.
That’s not what residents thought when they learned about the changes. Many believed that the parking permits for Spanish River, Red Reef and South Beach parks were being eliminated.
Those permits cost $85 for city residents and those within the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District who live outside the city limits. The daily flat parking rate for non-permit holders driving cars, motorcycles and minivans is $35 on weekdays and $50 on weekends.
Many residents also complained that the changes would reduce their access to beach parking in favor of nonresidents by allowing for hourly parking. They said that would make the spaces more desirable to out-of-towners, who otherwise would have to pay the higher-priced daily rate. That is not the case, city officials said.
“We understand the importance of ensuring enough beach parking for residents,” Singer said in his Facebook post.
At the heart of the misunderstandings is a memo from City Manager George Brown to council members seeking their authorization to establish a parking meter zone — and to authorize the installation of parking meters — for the three beachside parks.
Residents inferred that meant parking meters would be installed and the parking permits would be eliminated.
They also thought they would not get a sticker each year showing they are permit-holders, prompting residents to plead for keeping the sticker system.
It is true that, if the changes are made, residents no longer will have to come to city offices each year to collect the sticker that they show when entering beach parking lots. But city officials see that as a convenience and say it will no longer be necessary to show one if the new parking system is installed.
The city is trying to make the system better by using modern parking technology, officials said. If the city’s plans proceed, meters that use license plate recognition technology will be installed. It would be akin to those used by parking apps such as ParkMobile.
Park users would no longer have to stop at a gatehouse. Instead, they would simply drive in and park. The technology would recognize who is a permit-holder and who is not.
Those without permits would be charged the daily parking rate, officials said.
The idea is to reduce the time beachgoers spend waiting in line at the gatehouses, improve convenience and allow gatehouse staff to be moved into other roles.
Establishing a parking meter zone would be an administrative first step that would allow the other changes to be made, although details are still being worked out.
But that’s on hold for now. The City Council will discuss the proposed changes at a meeting later this summer.
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