NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. – City leaders are cracking down on illegal parking and looking for solutions to find parking for the growing crowds visiting the beach town. The city created a parking task force to find ways to expand parking earlier this year and on Tuesday, it presented its findings.
The task force focused on Canal Street mainland and especially beachside on Flagler Avenue. Leaders in New Smyrna Beach approved a plan Tuesday to hire consultants to address the parking issue.
“With the thousands of new homes being built over the next decade or two in southeast Volusia, it’s just going to get worse,” said the task force’s chairman, Gerard Pendergast.
There is a shortage of about 450 spaces on Canal Street and 250 spaces on Flagler Avenue on a typical day, according to the data the taskforce collected over the last seven months.
“At high tide, we’re 2,500 spaces short beachside and that happens twice a day,” said Pendergast.
Pendergast led the task force of seven residents and business owners who presented three phases of solutions to commissioners Tuesday night.
The first would include reducing street parking from four hours to two hours until paid parking is established there and sharing lots with local businesses.
“We have an awful lot of spaces that when the professional offices close and they go home those spaces are vacant,” said Pendergast.
The second phase includes creating paid parking everywhere, which would also help the city collect data. Business owners and city residents would be exempt from paying in some areas.
The task force also suggested bringing in a free shuttle service as part of the second phase.
Then, if necessary, the third phase would be a parking garage but finding land for it would be difficult.
“More and more people are moving to New Smyrna every day. We’re bursting at the seams,” said Issac Binda. “The locals are getting to the point where they don’t even want to go out anymore.”
Those who live beachside and work on Flagler Avenue, like Binda, who manages The Breaker’s restaurant, said they have been dealing with people illegally parking in their lots and front yards daily. They hope city commissioners take these suggestions and put them in place quickly.
“We have several staff members that are hired strictly to work in the parking lot. People want to leave their car here and walk downtown for a little bit, walk to the beach, but it’s for customers only,” said Binda.
Commissioners said the consultants should present their findings by late 2024.
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