Treasure Island Beach Parking Crisis Gets Worse as Spring Break Hits
A huge beachfront parking lot at 112th Avenue and Gulf Boulevard sits empty. The space, which used to fit 112 cars, is still unusable from Hurricane Helene’s damage just as spring break crowds arrive at Treasure Island in mid-March.
Storm surge made the lot unstable and dangerous. While St. Petersburg officials consider rebuilding plans, they’re working with Treasure Island leaders on temporary solutions.
“I don’t know if there’s any plans for the City of Treasure Island to try and take that lot. But I know our city manager and the City of St. Pete City Administrator are going to be meeting in the near future to discuss trying to get the lot open or what the future holds for that lot,” said Jason Beisel, Public Information Officer for Treasure Island, to Fox 13 News.
With tourist season in full swing, beachgoers now have to pay $5 per hour for spots along Sunset Beach. The city moved to a new pay-by-plate system that needs smartphone apps or texts to pay.
The parking crunch is hurting local businesses. “It’s impacted us tremendously. We have all kinds of foot traffic that walk across the street (and) patronize our retail store. And with this being closed off, all of a sudden, we have absolutely zero foot traffic,” said Richie Mahoney of Suncoast Sailing to Fox 13 News.
The storm took out two more beach lots. Crews are rushing to fix Madeira Beach’s Archibald Park area, hoping to reopen by April 1. Information about other parking options, such as Gulf Front Park Lot, 104th Avenue & Gulf Boulevard (77 spaces) and New City Hall, 10451 Gulf Boulevard (62 spaces), can be found at https://www.mytreasureisland.org/general_parking_information.php
For $5, residents can get yearly passes to share with visitors. City officials are steering people toward private lots and the beach trolley as other options.
New rules don’t allow backing into spaces because of tag readers. These changes happen right before the March 8-9 “Back to the Beach” festivities.
Beach restoration funding from the Army Corps of Engineers relies on having enough parking spaces, making the closures more complicated. The city’s website keeps updating info about parking and transit options.
