$5-an-hour parking starts Friday in ocean block of Sunrise Avenue in Palm Beach
The town said it would begin charging $5 an hour on Friday for street parking along the ocean block of Sunrise Avenue and the stretch of North County Road between Wells Road and Root Trail.
Parking has been free in the area, which is near a popular unguarded beach where beachgoers have been in conflict with residents.
The Town Council settled on the $5 fee during its meeting on Tuesday to be consistent with the rate charged to park in the Midtown Beach area.
"This is consistent with other areas of town where we have paid parking," Council President Margaret Zeidman told the Daily News on Thursday.
The council had decided in August to begin charging $3 an hour in the ocean block of Sunrise and on North County Road between Wells Road and Root Trail after residents complained about beach visitors to an unguarded neighborhood beach in the area.
The beach is privately owned westward of an erosion control line. But there are two public access paths to the beach. Oceanfront property owners said many beachgoers were using drugs and alcohol and becoming belligerent when confronted about trespassing onto private property.
“The unanimous decision by the Town Council to establish parking rates at $5 an hour will mirror the existing approach on Midtown Beach to protect the residents,” Mayor Gail Coniglio said Thursday.
Parking has been free in the area with a two-hour time limit.
The time limit will continue to be in effect to encourage parking turnover, Deputy Town Manager Jay Boodheshwar told the Daily News this week.
Kiosks were installed this week and are programmed to “go live” on Friday, Boodheshwar said.
Motorists will pay by credit card at the kiosks or with their phones, using the Parkmobile app, he said.
“If you want to control the volume of traffic for beachgoers in this area, you have to control the parking,” Public Works Director Paul Brazil told the council in August.
The council approved paid parking in the same two areas last year but reversed the decision in December after at least one resident on Sunrise Avenue objected.