DEWEY BEACH, DE — Parking in Dewey Beach has long been a hot commodity, especially during the busier summer months. With changes to parking rules and fees, the town is bring back seasonal Parking Ambassadors to help enforce these new regulations.
Significant changes included the rise in parking fees and the introduction of new rules. Parking passes and permits are now only valid in all designated parking zones, but do not apply to coin-metered spots. Dewey Beach Commissioner Paul Bauer says the adjustments have aimed to bring more clarity to the parking system,
“We’ve tried to simplify parking over the years, the biggest complaints we had in previous years was, 'we aren’t sure where to park', 'it wasn’t marked correctly', 'I parked at a meter but had my hanging permit', things like that," he said.
He added that the role of the Parking Ambassadors will primarily be to guide the public, not just throw around tickets,
"Their job is really to educate the public. What we try to coach everyone on is educate first and ticket second. When you have the opportunity to educate someone and have a better feeling coming to town rather than 'the town's out to get me,'" Bauer explained.
The town will employ five seasonal Parking Ambassadors, each paid $18 an hour.
However, not everyone is thrilled about the prospect of increased ticketing and town spending. Deborah Gilbert works at a hotel in town and says she'd rather she the focus in other places,
“I think the money can be better spent elsewhere, with the roads and the bridges and stuff like that - and it’s an issue with employees because we do have to park in the streets sometimes when we’re fully booked," she said.
The new Parking Ambassadors are set to begin their duties at the start of the summer season on May 15th in Dewey Beach.
