Know
‘Cherished assets’: Pinellas weighs parking increases at beaches
“These parks are some of the most cherished assets in the county and they should be accessible.”
A day at Fort De Soto could soon cost considerably more, as Pinellas County considers replacing its longstanding $6 daily parking fee with a $3.50 hourly rate.
The proposed change would apply to Fort De Soto, Sand Key and Fred Howard parks as part of the county’s fiscal year 2027 budget. The county currently charges $6 regardless of whether someone stays for an hour or spends the day.
At $3.50 an hour, that calculus changes quickly.
A one-hour visit would actually become cheaper, at $3.50. Two hours would cost $7; four hours, $14; and six hours would run $21. An eight-hour beach day, absent a daily cap, would cost $28.
For families accustomed to parking at Fort De Soto in the morning and leaving in the afternoon, the difference could be substantial.
While the rates seemingly encourage short-term trips, County Administrator Barry Burton said during the Thursday meeting that “What we really want to encourage is people getting an annual pass.”
There is, however, a hitch in that strategy: according to commissioners during Thursday’s budget discussion, only about 1,100 annual parking and boat-ramp access passes are currently sold each year.
The county currently offers an annual beach parking pass for $75, plus tax, which covers Fort De Soto, Sand Key and Fred Howard. A combined annual boat-ramp and beach parking pass costs $110, plus tax.
Those prices are also proposed to increase. Burton told commissioners that most county parking fees have not been substantially adjusted in more than two decades. Taken together, increases to beach parking, boat-ramp parking and annual passes are expected to generate roughly $2.77 million in additional annual revenue.
Commissioner Vince Nowicki, however, suggested “dialing back” the increases, describing the proposal as a “compounding increase.”
“These parks are some of the most cherished assets in the county and they should be accessible,” Nowicki declared.
That prompted discussion of a middle ground: maintaining the $3.50 hourly rate while putting a ceiling on what someone could pay in a day.
Commissioners discussed a $15 daily maximum and asked staff to model the option. That would still represent a 150% increase over the current $6 daily fee, but would prevent someone spending an entire day at Fort De Soto from watching the meter climb to $20 or more.
The distinction matters particularly at Fort De Soto. The 1,136-acre park draws an average of more than 2.7 million visitors annually, and its beaches, trails, fishing areas, campground and other amenities lend themselves to visits measured in hours rather than quick trips.
The county currently charges $6 per day to park at its boat ramps. Annual boat and beach passes cover county park boat ramps, along with the standalone Sutherland Bayou, Belleair Causeway and Park Boulevard ramps.
At its core, the proposal shifts more of the cost of maintaining those public amenities toward the people actively using them. For the county, that creates another revenue stream as commissioners work through a difficult budget. For residents, it raises a different question: how much should someone pay to spend a day at a public park already supported by taxpayers?
The proposal is not final. The current $6 daily rate remains in effect while commissioners continue working through the FY2027 budget.
The Board of County Commissioners will hold another budget work session Sept. 3, followed by public hearings Sept. 10 and Sept. 24.
