MIAMI — Starting October 1, the City of Miami Beach is expected to hike its parking prices.
This is the first time the city has increased prices since 2015. As of now, people are paying $4 an hour but it will be going up to $6 next month.
Esteban Javornik, who lives and works in Miami Beach, said as much as he would like to not have to drive, there’s no other way to get around.
“Something like mass transit like a light rail on the beach, or anything would kind of alleviate the necessity of having to move around in a vehicle,” he said.
The Miami Beach resident said people who call the city home will feel the impact the most.
“If you’re going to come here on the weekends or you want to party or you’re going to come to the beach in that way, you’re going to pay the 100% increase anyways and the only people that are going to be affected is people who live here and have to pay for parking every day,” Javornik said.
Come October, nonresidents on South Beach will have to pay $6 when before it was just $4 for street parking. However, residents who register will receive a discount, taking the price from $1 to $2.
Parking garage rates are also on the up, taking it up to $3 an hour for up to 4 hours.
CBS News Miami spoke with Miami Beach Commissioner Alex Fernandez, who said this change was decided on back in 2019. Based on an ordinance passed, the city manager can adjust parking fees every five years based on the Consumer Price Index, catching some of them off guard.
“It’s unfair to place this extra cost for parking on residents,” Fernandez said. “And, it makes it even worse for businesses that are suffering that depend on visitors to come to our city to add this extra expense. And, we’re going to say ‘no.'”
Fernandez said a resolution is in the works to stop this parking increase from going into effect on October 1.
