Naples City Council discussed the possibility of closing overnight parking on 12th Avenue South near the Naples Pier Wednesday, while keeping the pier itself open all night. The move could cut down on noise complaints that police have received from residents who live near the pier.
One option to deal with the complaints was to close the pier between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m., but council members rejected that idea.
"I don't know why people would be fishing late at night," said Ron Katz of Bonita Springs. "But I don't think anything should be closed, parking included."
Naples Police Chief Tom Weschler presented council members with several options for dealing with the noise complaints, and said the goal is to keep large groups from gathering at the pier during overnight hours.
"There are some other areas where you could park to get there," said Weschler. "But (12th Avenue) is where the noise is generated from, so we'll see what the advisory board decides."
The Community Services Advisory Board could recommend closing the overnight parking on 12th Avenue South at their next meeting in August. Katz hopes they reject the whole idea.
"I do my fishing during the daytime and I never tried it at night, but maybe I will," Katz said. "But I don't know where I'll park."
