Walton County Implements Paid Parking at Selected Lots

[Ron]

Walton County announces its paid parking program at
three municipal parking lots in an effort to support essential County services.
Beginning on April 3, paid parking will be implemented at the Van Ness Butler
Municipal, County Road 393 Municipal and Grayton Beach Municipal lots in
south Walton County.

Parking remains free of charge at all other municipal parking lot locations. In
addition, tram services to public beaches will continue to operate at no charge from
all municipal parking lots.

To ensure affordability for local residents, the County is offering an annual parking
permit to Walton County residents for only $5 per year. Residents may apply for
this permit at www.parkwaltonco.org.

“We recognize that changes to parking policies may be concerning for residents,”
said Mike Thornton, Deputy County Administrator. “We’re implementing this
program to ensure the long-term sustainability of County operations with a fee
structure that minimizes the impact on residents while ensuring that visitors
contribute to the upkeep of public facilities.”

Sixty percent of parking revenue will go toward Walton County operations, helping
fund services and maintain public amenities. The remaining forty percent of the
revenue will cover the cost of PCI Municipal, LLC, the private vendor responsible
for managing the parking program including permits, payment processing, onsite
safety and customer service.

Additional details about the program, including the full fee structure for residents
and visitors, instructions for obtaining parking permits and payment options are
available at www.parkwaltonco.org

 

[James Bentwood]

Tourist lots shoiuld be paid by tourists and/or Walton County Tourism from bed tax.

Another brick in the wall of the downfall of SoWal.

 

[navigate30a]

Walton County announces its paid parking program at
three municipal parking lots in an effort to support essential County services.
Beginning on April 3, paid parking will be implemented at the Van Ness Butler
Municipal, County Road 393 Municipal and Grayton Beach Municipal lots in
south Walton County.

Parking remains free of charge at all other municipal parking lot locations. In
addition, tram services to public beaches will continue to operate at no charge from
all municipal parking lots.

To ensure affordability for local residents, the County is offering an annual parking
permit to Walton County residents for only $5 per year. Residents may apply for
this permit at www.parkwaltonco.org.

“We recognize that changes to parking policies may be concerning for residents,”
said Mike Thornton, Deputy County Administrator. “We’re implementing this
program to ensure the long-term sustainability of County operations with a fee
structure that minimizes the impact on residents while ensuring that visitors
contribute to the upkeep of public facilities.”

Sixty percent of parking revenue will go toward Walton County operations, helping
fund services and maintain public amenities. The remaining forty percent of the
revenue will cover the cost of PCI Municipal, LLC, the private vendor responsible
for managing the parking program including permits, payment processing, onsite
safety and customer service.

Additional details about the program, including the full fee structure for residents
and visitors, instructions for obtaining parking permits and payment options are
available at www.parkwaltonco.org

The website isn’t even up yet.

 

[Jane]

I assume the money will go toward more parking lots and expanded teams. Hopefully it will reduce traffic.

 

[Jimmy T]

When I first heard about this, I thought it was a joke. Crazy.

 

[bob bob]

When I first heard about this, I thought it was a joke. Crazy.

Walco has been talking about paid parking for awhile. It will probably expand to all "improved" parking spaces like along roadways. At one time they said locals would park free. I guess a locals' permit keeps things uniform. The cost of enforcement is going to be high.

 

[James Bentwood]

As early as April 1, Municipal Parking Lots (MPLs) in South Walton will begin charging residents of Walton County and visitors for parking.

On February 26, the Board of County Commissioners approved the signature of a contract with PCI Municipal Services, LLC for parking management and enforcement services at the 393 Municipal Parking Lot, Grayton Beach Municipal Parking Lot, and the Van Ness Butler Parking Lot.

The Van Ness Butler Parking Lot currently does not offer tram service for those seeking rides to and from the beach. However, the other two MPLs do have Tram services that support public transportation (Beach Tram) to reduce traffic congestion on 30A and give beachgoers the ability to easily access a greater number of public beaches, where parking can be most difficult to find during peak season. The MPLs are operational between 5:00 a.m. and 12:00 a.m, seven days a week.

Walton County residents seeking an annual parking pass will pay $5 dollars for a year. Costs for non-residents will be much higher, according to the commission’s agenda item paperwork. Non-residents will pay a five-dollar fee from November through February, but the fee increases to $15 the rest of the year. A non-resident may purchase an Annual Parking Permit for $205.00. A weekly permit for non-residents is $120.00.

In addition, all customers will have to pay a convenience fee that varies by purchase type.

Daily Parking Fees: .45¢ per payment

Parking permit fee: $3.50 per permit

Online parking citation payment: $3.50 per citation

In-person uncontested citations: $25 Walton County Clerk of Court fee

In-person contested citations: $75 Walton County Clerk of Court fee

How much does Walton County make?

County Administrator Brian Kellenberger said that because this is the first time Walton County has initiated a managed “pay to park” program, the anticipated income is unknown, and the estimate is based solely on forecasting. He explained that it is also hard to determine, based on the number of locals who may purchase permits or on the time it takes [especially in the first season] for the public to realize the benefits of the MPLs and the new Tram system that provides door-to-door service to the beach accesses. He estimated the annual income could be between $750,000 and $1 million.

No Overnight Parking – Fines are Over the Roof

The County wants to ensure that vehicles are not left in the parking lot overnight. It would be cheaper to park in Manhattan for a week than to pay the ticket for a car left overnight at one of the three MPLs. If a car is left in any of the three MPLs between 12:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m., the fine is $500.00 if paid within the first 30 days. If the fine for overnight parking is not paid in the first 30 days, the fine assessed is $750.00.

Kellenberger says the overnight fine sends a strong message that deals directly with the intended purpose of the MPL. “The Municipal Parking Lots are for those visitors seeking daily beach access and are clearly not for short-term rental parking,” he explained. Kellenbeger added that many short-term rentals have inadequate parking, and in many instances, visitors to the areas have more cars at a rental unit than there are spaces allotted for the property.

The plan for the MPLs is to provide a convenient, easy way for individuals and families to get to the beach. If short-term rental vacationers used the MPLs as overflow parking, the MPLs would remain full week after week, and the efforts made by Beach Operations and the Tourism Department over the last few years would be unsuccessful.
PCI Municipal Services will be responsible for managing the parking and permitting. As the administrator of the fee-based parking, PCI will receive 40 percent of the revenues as defined in the contract with Walton County.

 

[Kurt]

On the agenda for approval by BCC:

https://walton.civicweb.net/document/523717/Request%20to%20approve%20and%20authorize%20the%20Chairman%20t.pdf

Paid parking area fees and fines shall be as follows:

1. Daily Parking Fees
a. Off Season (November to February) - $5.00 per day
b. In Season (March to October) - $5.00 per hour, $15.00 per day
c. Free Parking for the Disabled- no fees will be charged for any vehicle displaying a
disability parking permit/placard or disability license plate)

2. Parking Permits
a. County Resident Annual Parking Permit - $5.00 per year
b. Non-Resident Annual Parking Permit - $205.00 per year
c. Non-Resident Weekly Parking Permit - $90 per week

3. Parking Citation Fines
a. Non-Payment Citation - $40, plus the Daily Parking Fee Due (if paid within 30 days of
receipt)
b. Non-Payment Citation - $80, plus the Daily Parking Fee Due (if paid after 30 days of
receipt)
c. Parking in the County’s Municipal Parking Lots between the hours of 12 a.m. and 5 a.m.
- $500.00, if paid within 30 days of receipt or $750.00 if paid after 30 days of receipt.

4. Convenience Fees shall be charged and paid by customers to cover the cost of the technology.
The initial convenience fees shall be as follows:
a. Daily Parking Fees - $0.45 per payment
b. Parking Permit Fee - $3.50 per permit
c. On-Line Parking Citation Payment - $3.50 per citation paid

 

[Shard Shop Grayton]

Shops of Grayton and surrounding retailers will suffer greatly from this decision. Charging for the use of the tram vs parking would seem more logical and supportive of all the small businesses in the Grayton area.

 

[Dawn]

Shops of Grayton and surrounding retailers will suffer greatly from this decision. Charging for the use of the tram vs parking would seem more logical and supportive of all the small businesses in the Grayton area.

How will paid parking hurt business? I doubt it's going to deter tourists.