Public Comments Regarding Parking at Stearns Park @ the September 28, 2015 Commissioner's Meeting

[Jasper]

During the Public Comments a Ludington Citizen addressed her observations of parking at Stearns Park.  She stated she spent approximately an hour driving through the "beach" to find a parking spot. This is not a new issue as suggested by Ms. Killip's.  For years and years the same phenomena has occurred during the summer months. 

Ms. Killips suggested the need for more parking areas to access the beach area.  Ms. Killip's also suggested parking at the water tower during week-ends.  That area would not solve the availability of parking, as there are not many spaces.

The COL...IMHO is behind the times.  Numerous upon numerous cities across the US require a parking fee to park at a beach, or one can purchase a seasonal pass for unlimited parking.  

The COL is totally missing out on revenue that perhaps could rejuvenate the Lifeguard Program, etc... An admission fee for parking would possibly eliminate other problems that usually occur later into the evening. 

Just a thought....other than the COL building a three story parking structure!  LOL!!!

[XLFD]

Jasper,

I just put up a couple of articles about the meeting, one that links to your article here.  For the record, Killips did talk about the spacious water treatment plant parking lot being used for beach parking rather than the 'water tower'.

I would not be personally averse to charging for parking at Stearn's beach, since I haven't parked there for ages (I typically walk or bicycle to the beach).  I don't necessarily think it would be a great idea, just because of the amount of 'free parking' beach along the lakeshore in Mason County, which may make Stearn's less popular among tourists.  It may wind up costing more, and of course, you will get people upset when they get ticketed by the roving park rangers when they wind up staying for longer than they planned and/or were reluctant to wander back and feed the meter.  It's a debatable issue IMHO, and worth looking into to see whether it might be desirable-- but I am initially inclined to vote no. 

[Willy]

I must strongly disagree with paying to park at Stearns Beach. Why should residents who pay for the beach upkeep and maintenance then have to pay to use that  beach? I drive through the parking lot many times a week to just view the water, lighthouse and beach and I know many other people who do the same. More fees are not the answer. I have never seen the entire beach being used so if they need more parking why not extend the parking lot west 50 ft.and install a third row for cars. There  is more than enough beach to accommodate 3 or 4 rows of cars instead of just 2. I took the picture below on a busy warm summer day and it shows a sparsely populated beach.  

[AQUAMAN]

So, I also saw the Stearns Park beach filled with cars and overcrowded most of late July, August, and early Sept.. I also saw lines of cars trying to get into Stearns, when the circle drive was already bumper to bumper. Many folks opted to park on side streets too, bringing many running children and slow walking older folks into oncoming traffic on Lakeshore Drive. Parking meters are not the answer. Again, who thought this moronic idea up? Shay again? I can just see it now, a kid drowning in the lake, while a Beach Patrol boy is writing a ticket to someone, or better yet, arguing about not issuing that ticket since they just parked there a short while, and the meter only allows coins for a quick 20 minute stay before you have to put more money in. This has also been implemented elsewhere, and lo and behold, they also charged people to walk in or bicycle in too. It's a two-edged sword that won't help anything, but complicate things even more. Solution: go to another stretch of beach that's also open to the public, not a private beach either.