28-05-2025
Gloucester raises non-resident beach parking price, requires online reservation
A price hike for non-residents visiting Gloucester's popular beaches is now in effect. People showed up this week paying more than $40 to park.
"We came two years ago, and it was $20 a car. Now it's double. We didn't know we had to pay for the entire night. We are paid up until 9 p.m. tonight," said John Lacaire, a teacher who brought students from Worcester Technical High School to the beach as part of a field trip. "We are here with some of our students for a field trip, so no way we can stay until 9 p.m."
Reservations required
The price went up $10 from last season. City Councilor Jeff Worthley says he started the push to have a reservation system for non-residents before he got on the council.
Lacaire also had no idea that he and his colleague Paul Chambers had to make a reservation online before parking with the students. "They had us leave the parking lot so we could make the reservation online. We left, drove down the street, made a reservation, came back five minute later, and they let us in," said Lacaire.
"Our numbers have been through the roof as far as people wanting to come to the beach," said Worthley. "If it turns out somehow this impacts demand, and we don't have many people coming, we can reduce the price."
Worthley says costs have gone up to maintain the beaches. They do provide bathrooms, lifeguards, and safety measures.
City trying to offset costs
"Our costs have gone up on everything, and so this is a way to offset that, and do it in a way that taxpayers in Gloucester aren't having to shoulder the whole burden," said Worthley. "We did go up $10 more per car per day. We like to think that when you carpool with four to five people that's an affordable family friendly destination."
Local residents pay far less to park. There are two options. For residents, they can pay $20 for a beach-only parking sticker. They can also apply for a sticker that gets them access to beaches and other city amenities like their compost station. That sticker is $5 for a 5-year span that resets every five years. If you apply for the sticker later in the 5-year span, it will cost less.
"A lot of beaches and a lot of people keep coming in, it became a big traffic problem," said Dick Pokolek, a Gloucester resident who has the five-year sticker. "The backups for traffic were so heavy that they had to find a solution."
"Before they started doing the reservation system, sometimes you could get here and not have a parking space. I understand why they did it, but it's just too much," said Diane Messuri who came with friends and was stunned to pay more than $40 to park. "Why do I have to pay this much every time I come, and just because they live in the town, they get such a bargain?"
