No permit parking on Lewes Beach this summer

The City of Lewes will not implement a parking permit program for Lewes Beach this summer, but will consider interim measures to improve safety and create order in several areas.

City Manager Ann Marie Townshend said the city received hundreds of detailed comments following a Jan. 18 workshop on beach parking, leading staff to delay any permit system until at least summer 2023.

“In order to truly do this project justice and make sure we don’t rush to get a product and not fully vet the comments, we believe there are some interim steps that can happen and not move forward with a permit system for this season,” Townshend said at mayor and city council’s Feb. 14 meeting.

One of the interim steps is a new idea – metering Roosevelt Inlet. Two concepts were presented to council. Angled parking could accommodate 34 to 35 parking spaces, while straight, head-in parking could result in as many as 45 spaces. Each plan includes two ADA spaces.

City engineer Charlie O’Donnell of George, Miles and Buhr said the lot would remain a stoned surface; however, the ADA spaces would be paved. Spaces could be delineated with parking bumpers. He does not anticipate painting lines on the surface.

“These are concept plans, with details that need to be fleshed out,” he said.

Parking along the jersey walls at Roosevelt Inlet would be prohibited as part of the plan.

Townshend presented several other recommendations for city council to consider. Those include identifying no-parking zones and emergency access streets in city code. Each would benefit staff and future councils as they make decisions, she said.

She also recommends city council definitively decide if it wants to allow parking on paper streets and former paper streets. Paper streets are undeveloped areas where streets are planned on maps, but have never been created. In some cases, paper streets have been converted to open space by the city. Many paper streets and former paper streets are already used for parking.

Based on feedback received at the workshop, Townshend suggested the city add striping for no-parking areas on streets between Cedar Street and Bay Avenue. Such markings were added to Cedar Street last summer.

Townshend would also like council to make a decision on several requests from homeowners with no off-street parking to have reserved space in front of their homes. She noted that all new construction and substantial improvements require off-street parking, so the number of homes without any is limited.

Rather than make any decisions on the recommendations at the Feb. 14 meeting, council scheduled a public hearing for 6 p.m., Thursday, March 10, to receive more feedback from the public. Townshend said a page on the city’s website will be created to share all the information received from the workshop and an accompanying survey.

Expanding guarded beach?

At mayor and city council’s Feb. 11 budget workshop, Parks & Marina Administrator Janet Reeves gave a presentation on expanding the city’s guarded beaches. The idea was brought to her by a member of council who was contacted by a constituent.

Reeves looked at two scenarios. The first would be to add two lifeguard chairs at Roosevelt Inlet. She estimated the cost would be $61,600 for four additional lifeguards and the purchase of necessary equipment. Council members pointed out that six lifeguards would likely be needed for full coverage, so the actual expense would be higher. The concern of having a mile-and-a-half gap between guarded beaches was also raised.

The other scenario looked at adding 10 lifeguard chairs between Savannah Beach (Beach 1) and Roosevelt Inlet. The estimate for 20 lifeguards and all necessary equipment would be more than $141,000. Again, council members pointed out that even more lifeguards would likely be needed to ensure full coverage.

Lewes had eight lifeguards last summer; the city was unable to fill the 10 available hiring slots. During one August Saturday, the beach was left unguarded because only one lifeguard was available.

City staff has included a pay increase to $16 per hour in the existing draft of the budget, which is aimed at helping with recruiting this summer.

Council expressed concern over adding more lifeguards after struggling to hire last year. The discussion ended with no commitment on either plan.