Redondo Beach Pier to Offer Free Parking

Something for nothing?

Well, not exactly. But if you’re going to be at the Redondo Beach Pier in the near future, you might check out the long-awaited free parking that begins Sept. 3. After merchants on the pier complained that parking fees were so high that fewer customers were shopping there, the city decided to allow one hour of free parking with a validation sticker from a pier merchant.

The free parking will be available from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Fridays. Merchants are hoping the free parking will bring more business people and locals to the pier on their lunch hour and during the week.

“We’re appreciative,” said Judy Milner, owner of Shark Attack gift store. “We need to do something to encourage our locals to come back.”

Merchants say pier business has never been the same since a fire and two storms in 1988 badly damaged the horseshoe section of the structure. A renovated pier opened in 1995. But merchants complained that parking fees that can be as much as $10 on the weekends have kept many residents away.