Parking fees at St. Pete Beach have nearly doubled

ST. PETE BEACH (FOX 13) - The price beachgoers in St. Pete Beach will have to pay has doubled, starting this week.

City officials say residents have complained that too many people are ignoring parking signs. When the public lots fill up, visitors take to residential side streets to hunt for parking and that means a lot of people are parking illegally -- signs or no signs.

Some even say the problem has gotten so bad in certain neighborhoods that they can’t even run out for groceries because when they come back someone has illegally parked in front of their house. Residents have said they’re left spending hours circling for parking, sometimes having to park several blocks away and tote their groceries home.

St. Pete Beach council members said they’re putting a little more pain in the price to discourage those willing to park illegally. Letting your meter expire is now a $50 fine, as well as for parking in a “no parking” zone. It used to be a $30 fee.

If you park in a residential zone, it’ll be a $60 fee. If you don’t pay your ticket within 15 days, add another $15 to the total fee.

If you leave your car all day in the wrong parking spot, you could end up with numerous fines, because the measure allows parking enforcement to ticket a vehicle every two hours if it is illegally parked. 

For additional information, click over to the St. Pete Beach city website, which provides the fee information.