2 State Beaches Lower Parking Fee in Trial

Parking fees at Huntington Beach and Bolsa Chica state beaches will drop from $6 to $5 in May and June in a trial effort to encourage people to use state parking lots instead of neighborhoods.

“People were causing increased traffic on the side streets;they were avoiding the lots,” said state Sen. Marian Bergeson (R-Newport Beach), who last week asked the state Department of Parks and Recreation to reduce fees. The pilot program, however, already had been planned.

According to figures from Bergeson’s office, parking revenue for the Huntington Beach state lot dropped from $1.74 million in 1990 to $1.1 million in 1991 when fees increased from $4 to $6. It continued to drop in 1993 to less than $1 million.

“I think they’ll find (a reduction) will perk up public interest,” Bergeson said.

The reduced fee begins Sunday and continues through June 30, after which it will revert to $6, said Don Ito, a superintendent for the department. If the experiment works, the fees may be dropped permanently here and at other state beaches.

Ito acknowledged that the dollar difference might not sway some beach visitors, but “the department didn’t want to take a bigger risk.” If the experiment doesn’t work and the number of cars remains the same, the state will lose about $100,000 over the two months, he said.

“But we’re hoping increased volume will make up loss in revenue,” he said.