River lovers could soon be forced to pay to park their vehicles at two popular Stafford County parks.
Parking fees at Falmouth Beach on the Rappahannock River, and Aquia Landing on the Potomac River, was discussed at Stafford County’s Infrastructure Committee meeting on July 7.
The proposed parking fees come as the Stafford Board of Supervisors aims to address =the issue of overcrowding at the popular river beaches.
In May, Potomac Local News reported complaints made by residents of Canterbury Road regarding beachgoers who blocked the street near Aquia Landing. Aquia Landing’s parking lot had been closed due to Governor Ralph Northam’s shutdown orders due to the coronavirus, which decreed all public beaches in the state be closed.
PLN also reported in February that the Parks and Recreation Department decided to let Falmouth Beach go back to nature. This hasn’t prevented people from going to swim and fish, and the county hasn’t committed any staff to the beach.
One option discussed is to institute parking fees which had originally been brought up at a June meeting of the County Board of Supervisors. The option would involve a $5 car parking fee in these areas on weekdays and holidays from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day weekend.
The projected revenue from these fees would come to $47,000 which would only bring in an extra $2,000 when compared to the $45,000 in expenditures that the county has made in their cost projections for this option.
The county’s analysis of the situation found many issues that would have to be addressed, and the fees could address some of those concerns.
For example, it found that the fees charged on weekends and holidays could pay for the necessary staff that would manage the lots. The busiest time of the year would be between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
However, parking fees on the weekdays would not be enough to cover the costs of staff. The analysis found that such parking issues rarely arise during the weekdays. It also found that the potential for revenue would not be as strong the rest of the year as it would be during the aforementioned holiday time frame.
Another problem with trying to control parking would be the potential loss of revenue from the rentals of picnic pavilions at the parks. Those rentals would have to stop since parking would be on a first-come-first-serve basis.
Another option is to fence in the beach area and the parking areas at Aquia Landing. The County’s cost projections for this would be $55,000, to come from the County’s Capital Improvement Plan for Fiscal Year 2022.
The county is going to continue looking at the available options for this issue. The Board of Supervisors has not yet set a date to continue discussing the proposed parking fees.
