Latest news with #parkingfee
CBS News
4 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
Miami-Dade residents push back against proposed $5 parking fee at county parks
Community members are voicing strong opposition to a proposed $5 parking fee at Miami-Dade County parks, including Tropical Park, as officials work to close a $402 million budget deficit. The fee is one of several ideas in the proposed budget aimed at generating new revenue. But for frequent park visitors, the plan has struck a nerve. "I am not in agreement with charging fees for the entrance to the park for the admission to parking," said Ozzy Ozon, a baseball coach at Tropical Park. Daniel Bui, who plays tennis and softball there weekly, said the fee could keep some families away. "I think the park has typically been a place where families can go throughout different economic backgrounds. I think just putting a five-dollar parking per day [would] put a strain on that," Bui said. Ozon, who coaches multiple times a week, called the proposal "an exaggeration." He added, "Five dollars? As tough as everything is in the economy—especially with kids in school, they have to buy school supplies and other stuff is more important than five dollars when you want to come and do exercise." The plan has also drawn criticism from Miami-Dade Commissioner Anthony Rodriguez, whose District 10 includes Tropical Park. "The way I see it is I already pay that in my property taxes, so why should we double dip and also charge for parking when they go use it?" he said. Rodriguez, who also serves as commission chairman, sent a memo to the mayor saying, in part: "These services are not merely amenities; they are lifelines that uplift our neighborhoods, strengthen our community, and preserve the unique cultural fabric of Miami-Dade." "Under no circumstances will I ever support that," Rodriguez said. "That is why my proposal not just says no, but finds the money so we could plug that hole." Rodriguez said he has identified $26 million to help offset the deficit—$20 million from the tax collector's office and $6 million in surplus funds from last year's budget. He is proposing to direct portions of that money to cultural arts programs, community organizations, and parks, with the goal of removing the parking fee from consideration. "We don't want residents under any circumstances [to] have to pay for parking when they go attend our parks," Rodriguez said. "Whether they're going to take a walk with their family or they're going to play a sport, we want to make sure we can offer that amenity to them at no cost as it is today." Rodriguez told CBS News Miami he is working to find solutions to the budget cuts but acknowledged some residents will be affected regardless of the final decision.
The Sun
08-08-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Britain's most expensive seaside town ‘abandoned' by tourists who REFUSE to pay ‘outrageous' new parking charge
THE MOST expensive seaside town in Britain has been abandoned by tourists with the implementation of an outrageous new parking fee. It means visitors have to pay a daily parking price of £10. 3 3 3 The coastal town of Salcombe in Devon has had a new parking charge of £10 introduced for day-trippers. Locals also are required to pay £8 per day for parking, if they have the annual £5 permit. This has triggered outrage, a notable drop in visitors according to residents. One local business owner, Beck Gordon who owns a cafe and fishmonger's, said: "In terms of day-trippers, if you talk about more local people, they definitely don't come any more." Beck added: "It's quieter generally. "The parking's definitely an issue." She pointed to the "absolutely ridiculous" fact that it is cheaper to get a weekly parking ticket that costs £25 or £50 than pay the car park fees, which would add up to £70. Another cafe manager in the area revealed spending £120 of her earnings just on parking. Salcombe was recently dubbed the most expensive seaside town in the UK, with average house prices of around £1.2 million in 2022. Lloyds, however, revealed they did tumble by 22 per cent in the Devon hotspot to £970,657 in 2022. Discovering UK's Most Picturesque Towns It is known for its high concentration of second homes, which constitute 60 per cent of its housing stock, which are being hit by double council tax. Despite having some of the UK's best seafood, and being a small fishing village, it receives hardly any tourists anymore. Councillor Julian Brazil, who is in charge of community services at the local council, stated: "We'd like to do everything to help the tourism trade and we have kept our car parking charges as competitive as possible. "Residents of the South Hams can benefit from our discounted resident parking scheme." "Many workers in Salcombe have benefited from our competitive parking permits, which offer significantly lower long-term parking compared to our pay-on-the-day rates." He added: "Be under no illusion, we don't want to increase prices, but this is the best choice for us under the circumstances we find ourselves in." According to Brazil, the prices have been frozen for four years, and visitors are just being asked to contribute to public services. Anti-tourist measures have been seen to be sweeping hotspots across the UK and Europe.
Free Malaysia Today
16-07-2025
- Automotive
- Free Malaysia Today
Selangor parking plan to involve local councils, state and private firms
A 10-year concession on Selangor's 'smart parking system' involving four local councils is expected to be signed on Aug 1. (File pic) PETALING JAYA : Local councils and a state-owned company, together with a private firm, are reportedly involved in a revised plan for parking fee collections in four cities in Selangor. State executive councillor Ng Suee Lim said an agreement for a 10-year concession was still being finalised and would only be signed on Aug 1. The concession for the 'smart parking system' would cover collections of parking fees and enforcement in Petaling Jaya, Subang Jaya, Shah Alam and Selayang. Ng Suee Lim. It will now involve the local councils, state-owned Rantaian Mesra Sdn Bhd and a private company. Last week, Ng was quoted by Bernama as saying that Rantaian Mesra was appointed as the concessionaire, with revenue collected to be split between the company and state government. However, he said today Rantaian Mesra was not among the 26 companies that responded to a request for proposal, The Edge reported. Ng said enforcement would still be carried out by local council officers under this plan, while Rantaian Mesra will act as a system coordinator. The private company, which has yet to be appointed, will then handle the daily parking operations of the four local councils, he added. He said Rantaian Mesra and the other company are expected to invest around RM200 million to develop the infrastructure for the smart parking system. 'The details covering technical, financial, enforcement and governance aspects among the three parties are being finalised, after which the agreement is expected to be signed on Aug 1. 'We are trying to complete the improvements before Aug 1, but if we need more time, we will ask for an extension from the state executive council,' he was quoted as saying. Ng said the aim of this initiative is to double the amount of parking fees collected, from the current 30% to at least 60%. The local councils are expected to record higher revenue without taking on higher operational costs, he said. Revenue collected would be shared between the local councils, Rantaian Mesra and the private company; however, he did not reveal a breakdown of the shared revenue. Under the previous plan, which involved only Rantaian Mesra, Ng said there would be a 50:50 share, of which 40% would go to the councils and 10% to Menteri Besar Incorporated, the investment arm of the state government. The plan was opposed by several quarters including Selayang MP William Leong, who voiced concern over enforcement powers being privatised and turned into a source of income for a private company. It later came to light that Rantaian Mesra was wholly owned by Selangor MBI after netizens checked on the company's ownership on the Companies Commission of Malaysia's database.
CBS News
22-05-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Sacramento may charge residents to park in front of homes to help address city budget deficit
SACRAMENTO — The City of Sacramento has a new idea to help solve its $44 million budget deficit: charging people a fee to park in front of their own homes. Should people be forced to pay to park in front of their own homes? Glen Korengold doesn't think so. "I think it's really unfair," Korengold said. Deborah Cregger doesn't like it either. "I think it's a horrible idea," Cregger said. Both live in Sacramento's Elmhurst neighborhood, where many people park on the street because of the smaller-sized driveways. "The cars then were little, if people had cars at all," Cregger said. The neighborhood is right next to the UC Davis Medical Center, with 16,000 employees and patients passing through daily. "Eight o'clock in the morning, you look out the window and cars are just coming in," Korengold said. So for decades, the city has had a residential parking permit program, designed to prevent outside drivers from taking up all the spaces on the street. "But for the permit program, there would be no place to park for residents," Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty said. About 30,000 people across the city live in these zones and can get a permit, allowing them to park without time restrictions. But now the city is considering charging people $120 a year for that permit, which had been free. "If, essentially, we don't charge for the parking, then the city is subsidizing the cost for the service," said Matt Eierman, the city's public works director. The city says the administrative cost is just over $1 million a year, but the proposal caused controversy at Tuesday night's city council meeting. "They're not only losing the opportunity to park on their streets, now proposing to charge them for the privilege of losing it," said City Councilmember Roger Dickinson. "That, to me, is fundamentally unfair." Homeowners we spoke to say the city should have done more outreach, and they had no idea the new fee was being considered until we told them about it. The proposal now goes back to the city's budget committee for further discussion on June 3 and would need to be passed as part of the budget before taking effect in July.
