Wrightsville Beach leaders are considering implementing a number of parking changes this year, including longer hours of enforcement, new compact space rules and more expensive residential parking passes.
The board of aldermen heard parking contractor Lanier Parking’s recommendations during a Jan. 14 meeting. The board will hold a public hearing on the changes Feb. 11 before voting on them.
The board agreed to six changes on which to vote in February: extending paid parking until 7 p.m. in lots with restrooms, increasing the price of residential parking passes from $25 to $35, limiting the time vehicles can occupy metered spaces to seven consecutive days, further restricting where parking passes can be used, creating more spaces on Old Causeway Drive, adding paid parking to Marina and Keel streets and adding pay stations allowing two free hours to Wrightsville Beach Park.
By the time paid parking starts March 1, the town will also address confusion over compact spaces. The 15 to 20 compact spaces, most of which are on Waynick Boulevard, range in size from 16 to 19 feet, so it’s unclear what size car is allowed to park there.
Residents have complained about large cars squeezing into the spaces and blocking them from reaching their homes or docks. Board members agreed the spaces should all be shortened to 15 feet so only true compact cars can occupy them.
Lanier’s parking recommendations addressed issues it identified during the 2015 season. Mayor Bill Blair was in favor of extending paid parking until 7 p.m. in lots with facilities — the north end lot at Public Beach Access No. 2, Crystal Pier lot, Johnnie Mercer’s Pier and the L-shaped lot at Public Beach Access No. 4 — because those areas and their facilities are heavily used until sunset, requiring public works.
The town also needs more parking revenue to increase its sand fund, Blair said, which will pay for Wrightsville Beach’s $10 million beach renourishment projects if federal funding runs out. The increase in residential parking pass prices requires residents contribute to the sand fund as well.
“A lot of this [parking discussion] is based on the reality that our funding from the federal government will go away,” Blair said.
Another recommendation, adding pay stations to Wrightsville Beach Park, would discourage beachgoers from parking there all day. The proposed pay stations would give two free hours, which board members said would allow those actually using the park’s facilities to park for free.
Lanier Parking also recommended adding metered spaces in the Harbor Island business district. The town metered Old Causeway Drive last summer but it could create about 20 more metered spots by replacing parallel spaces with side-by-side spaces. Metering nearby Keel and Marina streets is another option the board will consider.
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