VERO BEACH — In response to concerns that it would put a damper on residents’ and tourists’ “day at the beach” experiences, and in reaction to a petition signed by 600 locals and visitors, the Vero Beach City Council Tuesday agreed not to begin Saturday enforcement of two-hour parking on Ocean Drive, as planned on Nov. 8.
Lee Olsen, general manager of Waldo’s and the Driftwood Inn, serves on an ad-hoc parking work group that has been tasked with finding a solution to the parking snag on busy days.
City Manager Jim O’Connor said a big part of the problem is that beachgoers are choosing the city-owned beach at the end of Sexton Plaza for swimming and sunbathing, but the city does not have a designated beach parking lot there, so that’s taking parking away from patrons of the restaurants and shops.
The Oceanside Business Association Board of Directors voted on the enforcement of the two-hour Saturday parking and requested the city implement it, in addition to the two-hour parking enforced by police during the week.
“The OBA had 10 people who voted to ask you to start enforcing it,” Olsen said of the association’s Board. “I’ve brought you 600 people who want you to keep it the way it is.”
The signs posted do not say which days the two-hour limit is enforced, but locals and frequent visitors have grown accustomed to not being held to time limits on weekends.
The parking ticket costs $20 and this caused Mayor Dick Winger to question the planned enforcement last month, saying that maybe a warning could be issued for the first week or two. This idea was not deemed practical.
The newly elected City Council will take the issue back up on Nov. 18, with officials hopeful that the parking work group may devise some sort of compromise by then.
