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Aug 31, 2018
Over the next several months, the Rehoboth Beach commissioners will be considering proposals by the parking advisory committee to address the city’s increasingly congested streets. The committee is comprised of property and business owners, residents and stakeholders in the community and is charged with enhancing the viability of the city by evaluating, researching and recommending parking related issues to the commissioners.
Among some of the changes the committee recommended during the commissioners regular meeting on August 17, 2018, was to make the parking meter and parking permit seasons and enforcement times consistent. The committee’s presentation can be found at cityofrehoboth.civicweb.net/document/28004. The recommendation is to extend the season for both from May 1 through September 30 and adjust enforcement hours from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Other proposed changes include providing two transferrable, two non-transferable, and two scooter parking permits free of charge for all property owners. Additional seasonal parking permits would need to be purchased. To encourage more people to access downtown businesses through turnover in parking spaces, the committee has proposed changing the hourly parking price from $2 to $3 on the first two blocks of Rehoboth Avenue and the first blocks of Wilmington and Baltimore Avenues. The goal of this initiative is not to boost revenue, but rather to promote the movement of cars due to a higher price instead of refilling meters throughout the day.
Mayor Paul Kuhns said the city’s parking should be viewed as an economic development asset, one that is critical to keeping the downtown business scene vibrant and viable. That means there is healthy turnover in the downtown parking area, something he said merchants have concerns about. The commissioners will be discussing these recommendations at a special meeting September 21 at 1 p.m. For the meeting agenda and more information, please visit cityofrehoboth.civicweb.net/Portal/.
