Seaside Park Metered Parking Fees to Rise in 2024

A Seaside Park parking kiosk, March 2024. (Photo: Shorebeat)

Parking fees in Seaside Park will rise when meters are turned back on April 1, the borough council decided Thursday night.

The borough charges fees to park along Ocean Avenue as well as in municipal lots. Parking is paid based on a space number at an electronic kiosk or through a smartphone app. Previously, the rates were set at $1 per hour Monday through Friday and $2 per hour Saturdays and Sundays.

The measure passed Thursday night will raise the rates to $2 per hour on weekdays and $3 per hour on weekends. Parking fees are enforced 24 hours per day, and “weekend” hours begin 7 p.m. Friday night and last until 7 a.m. Monday morning. The higher rate is also charged on holidays.

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Initially, the borough was planning to raise the weekend price to $2.50 per hour, however technology got in the way.

“We were informed that the kiosks cannot charge 50 cents, so we’ve had to change it to $2 and $3,” said Council President Marty Wilk.

Though the price hike will mean more revenue for the borough, not all residents were in agreement on the matter.

“You’re just driving them down the side streets,” one person said, as the motion passed.

Seaside Park tends to see its parking spaces most crowded on Saturdays and Sundays after Island Beach State Park’s public parking lot reaches its capacity. Officials had been concerned about overcrowding when Gov. Phil Murphy declared fees would be eliminated in 2023, however it appears – at least thus far – that the state’s 2024 budget will call for the park fees to be reinstated come July 1, the start of the state’s new fiscal year.

Paid parking is available along Ocean Avenue from Porter Avenue to 14th Avenue. Parking pay stations that accept bills and credit cards are located on Ocean Avenue and in Municipal Lots 1, 2, and 3. Payment for parking is also accepted through the mPay mobile parking app. All paid parking lots are closed between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m.