Volusia County considers charging for off-beach parking

The days of free beach side parking in Volusia County may soon be gone. The county council is discussing the idea of charging a fee to park at county lots.

“We’re looking more at building more and more off-beach parking sites, and of course, that’s expensive," said Heather Post, Volusia County council member, "and then the maintenance of the current beach parking has been an issue as well."

Post is against parking fees.

“If we can’t afford to maintain the off-beach parking sites that we currently have, then perhaps we need to think about that before adding more,” she said, adding there is concern people will take their beach business somewhere else. “I would hate to see that be the defining factor in having them go to another coastline community.”

The councilwoman is also worried locals will stop coming to their community beach.

“You might say, ‘Oh, it’s five dollars here, ten dollars here,’ but all of that adds up,” said Post.

One of those locals is Dylan Oakes.

“I would probably come to the beach, but I wouldn’t park here,” said Oakes, an Ormond Beach resident.

And others agree with him.

“I would probably look for other places to park, instead of this one, because free is better,” said Zoe Sedalis, visitor.

But visitors Robin Feagle and Martha Martinez said they would have no problem paying for the convenience.

“I mean, if it’s a reasonable amount, yes,” said Feagle. “You get bathrooms, showers, covered area in case it starts to rain, yes,” Martha added.

People we spoke to said a fee of $2 to $5 is reasonable. The county is not expected to vote on implementing fees in the near future, but the idea is simply being discussed at this point.