Isle of Palms Spring 2016

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Just Beachy
New Parking Regulations in 2016
In years past, a day at beautiful
Isle of Palms during peak season could get a bit
overwrought for motorists struggling to find a
spot to park the family vehicle, unload snacks,
drinks and beach chairs and head for the shore. In
an effort to calm the haphazard parking, ensure
the safety of residents and visitors alike and make
a day trip to the sand and surf more pleasurable, the city
of Isle of Palms is implementing
a new parking plan beginning in
May. But don’t fret – it’s going to be a good thing.
“For the 2016 beach season, no daily beach visitor
will have to pay to park on the SCDOT right-of-way,”
assured Linda Tucker, the city administrator, when
she saw me delicately wrinkling my nose at the words
“parking regulations.” “Drivers will just have to park in the
designated beach parking areas.”
These designated areas – mostly along Palm Boulevard
and otherwise outside of the nooks and crannies of
residential life – apply only during the peak hours of the
day, between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m., and during the peak
months of the year, between May 15 and Sept. 15.
“City Council tried to zero in on a specific challenge and
time of year,” remarked Mayor Dick Cronin. “Essentially,
unsafe conditions were created when people parked
wherever they found the space. And though tickets were
given for illegal parking, those unsafe conditions remained.
So the city sought a more managed beach experience.”
The more managed beach experience, according to
Cronin and other officials of the city, has been in the works
for a handful of years, starting back in 2008. As early as
February of that year, the Planning Commission began
working on a parking plan to submit to the South Carolina
Department of Transportation. Things took a while, but
the new 2016 plan has been met with approval by the
SCDOT.
“Because the majority of the roads on IOP belong to
the state, anything we decided had to be cleared by them,”
Cronin explained.
Folks who are lucky enough to live on the Isle of Palms
year-round or own a vacation home are encouraged to visit
the city’s website and apply for special credentials, at no
cost to them, which enable them to park in residential-only
areas during peak times. Meanwhile, they can give their
personal visitors a day guest pass; for $15, each resident can
receive up to two booklets of 30 passes for the season.
“We want people to visit the website and go through the
process to have their cars and golf carts – yes, golf carts are
included in the new regulations – credentialed,” said Tucker.
And if you’re a hapless visitor, either from elsewhere in
the tri-county or from another state, who knows naught
about areas in which parking is permitted? According to
city officials, that, too, is the time to visit the Isle of Palms
website, where a map marked in red clearly shows where to
leave your car during a sunbathing session.
“If you’re a Mount Pleasant resident and you come to
the beach, you can park in the red areas – simple as that,”
said Tucker.
By Denise K. James
Feature
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Photo courtesy of the city of Isle of Palms.