NAPLES, Fla. — Prepare to pay more to park at the beach in Naples. On Monday, City Council voted unanimously to raise the rates for all visitor parking areas. You'll now have to pay $4 an hour rather than $3.
In October 2023, the price will go up to $5. The decision has brought on mixed feelings from both visitors and residents.
"I don’t think they should ever raise anything, but they’re going to do what they’re going to do," said Doug Gilmour, who's visiting his brother.
Doug says he believes inflation is a driving factor, but doesn't believe raising it will have an impact on visitors. His brother says he feels the same way.
"You can pay three dollars, four dollars — it’s not going to make a whole lot of difference and I’m sure they can use the revenue," said Don Gilmour, who comes to his Naples home during season.
While they do not see an issue with it, others see it differently.
"I mean, I think if you’re paying $1,000 a night to stay at the Inn, another $10 isn’t going to kill you," said Joe Gagliardi, who lives in Naples. "They have to raise some money, but it seems a little high."
The City Council agenda had slated the rate to be $4 an hour, until councilwoman Beth Petrunoff made a suggestion to raise it more.
"We might be leaving money on the table at $5 and that could possibly fund an additional code enforcement person, or someone to pick up the garbage more frequently," she explained on Monday afternoon. "And if they’re in Martha’s Vineyard or Nantucket or it’s a different price point, Greenwich, Connecticut – they’re used to paying this."
Collectively, Naples City Council says the price hike comes down to inflation, staffing, increase in spending and eventually helping the beach ends fully open again.
Along with the parking increase, City Council approved the continuation of a pilot program. Currently, only two visitor lots have the PayByPhone option while everywhere else solely has a pay station. The program launched in August 2022, but the city couldn't get a good gauge of it because of Ian.
The contract with PayByPhone will not only be extended for a year, but they're going to install the system into all visitor parking lots. Prior to Ian, City Council said 15% of people used it at Lowdermilk Park.
Another pilot program is sticking around permanently. In 2021, a "sticker only" program was launched. Residents of Naples and Collier County could obtain a beach sticker and park in specific areas where visitors are not allowed to park. City Council also voted in favor of making the program permanent.
City Manager Gary Young says the rate increase will go into effect at "the first practical moment we can get it accomplished."
