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Wrightsville Beach
Thursday, March 28, 2024

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By Simon Gonzalez

Parking revenue increased in Wrightsville Beach in the most recent fiscal year. Significantly.

Last week, Lumina News reported after metering more spaces around town and increasing the price of parking passes for residents, the town’s revenue increased 7.9 percent. Meter revenue was up 6 percent, citation revenue was up 11 percent and residential permit revenue was up 44 percent.

The bottom line: The town’s total parking revenue this year was $2.8 million compared to $2.6 million last year.

This could be seen as another example of a government gouging the citizenry. Nobody likes to pay more in fees and fines, or to see a reduction in free parking spaces.

But a better interpretation is that Wrightsville Beach is doing it right with the parking fees.

The fact is, the town needs money to provide services. That money must come from somewhere. And parking revenue is better than tax increases.

Wrightsville Beach uses the parking revenue to help pay for tourism-related costs. Since most of those putting money in meters are tourists and day trippers it makes sense to have them help bear the burden.

Higher parking fees also mean more turnover on each space, allowing more people to have access to the beach strand and businesses.

The biggest complaint is over the new pay station at Wrightsville Beach Park, where parking used to be free. There’s still no charge for the first two hours in the park, but visitors must place a receipt on their dashboard to avoid being cited.

The pay station is intended to discourage beachgoers from parking there all day, walking to the beach strand, all the while taking up spaces intended for people using the park, playing tennis or volleyball, for those running and walking the loop — activities that, for the most part, are done within the two-hour limit. It’s an inconvenience to get a receipt just to park for free, but it’s a good move to ensure the parking lot remains true to its purpose.

There can be a fine line to walk when it comes to how much to charge for parking.

There is a reason why there’s a constant stream of visitors flocking to Wrightsville Beach every day. The sand and sea are beautiful. We’re the closest beach town to UNCW, to most of Wilmington, to the airport, and to tourists coming in from I-40.

Parking fees here are $2.50 an hour, or $15 a day. At Carolina Beach they are $1.50 an hour, or $8 a day. Parking is free at Kure Beach.

For now, the fees don’t seem to be a deterrent. Finding a parking place, especially one close to the beach, can be a challenge. That’s a good thing, because the town needs revenue not just to pay for tourism-related services, but to sock away as a hedge against the cost of beach renourishment, aka beach sand mitigation.

To keep a sizeable beach strand that can support all those bodies on the sand, county beach towns require sand to be pumped back onto the beach every three to four years. Wrightsville Beach is next due for maintenance in 2018.

Federal funding currently accounts for 65 percent of the $10 million project, but is projected to be severely curtailed, if not disappear completely. In the past the state has put up 17.5 percent, but future contributions are also unknown.

North Carolina’s 2017 budget calls for funding to study the physical, economic and public safety benefits of beach renourishment. That’s a good start, because any study should reveal that the government has skin in the game.

Tourism is a vital part of the North Carolina economy, accounting for jobs and tax revenue. Tourism generated $27.3 billion in visitor spending in 2014, a study commissioned by Visit North Carolina states.

The study showed that travel and tourism in New Hanover County generated $43.93 million in state and local tax receipts, and more than 5,600 in the county were employed in jobs directly related to the tourism industry.

It’s to Raleigh’s — and New Hanover County’s — benefit to make sure Wrightsville Beach remains an attractive destination for tourists. That means a flat, wide beach.

Still, in the current economic climate it’s unrealistic to expect the state and the county and the feds to be too enthusiastic about ponying up funds for what is, let’s face it, deemed by most an affluent beach town, even though the beach is public. Like it or not, an increasingly large burden is likely to fall on the local community.

And if some of the funding can be garnered from visitors via things like parking revenue, so much the better.

The town is forward thinking.

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