News

By Cheryl Blackerby
    
    Attendance is up 50 percent at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Boca Raton, which is a good thing, except for a growing parking problem. On busy days, one or two park rangers have to manage parking.
    A big part of the problem is beach-goers who park free at Gumbo Limbo and then go across the street to Red Reef Park East to avoid paying the $18 daily rate on weekends ($16 weekdays) at the beach.
    The solution: Parking meters for Gumbo Limbo and Red Reef Park East.
    At least that’s what Michele Peel, president of Friends of Gumbo Limbo, proposed to the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District.
    If Red Reef Park East had meter hourly parking instead of the expensive daily rate, and Gumbo Limbo also had the same meter parking rate, there would be no benefit for beach-goers to park at Gumbo Limbo, she said.
    Red Reef Park West, between A1A and the Intracoastal on the south side of Gumbo Limbo, has meter parking that is $2 per hour ($3 on weekends) with a maximum of four hours parking. Peel said the proposed meter rates for Gumbo Limbo and Red Reef East would need to be the same as Red Reef Park West.
    “We haven’t looked at the price, so we don’t yet know what the rate would be,” said Peel, adding that the nature center’s members would get lower meter rates.  “We could give our members parking tokens, and the price would depend on the membership level.”
    Another parking problem, she said, is the need for spaces close to the center for volunteers. That’s in addition to the parking spaces they need for visitors.
    The metered parking at Gumbo Limbo would have the added benefit of keeping people bound for the beach from picnicking on Gumbo Limbo land, which doesn’t have picnic facilities.
They leave garbage and food, which attracts the nature center’s wildlife, including foxes, raccoons and skunks, said Peel.
    Friends of Gumbo Limbo is a not-for-profit organization that supports research, education, conservation and preservation efforts through memberships, the gift shop, donations, sponsorships, foundation gifts and annual fundraising events.