How to make your voice heard on Hilton Head’s plan to charge for beach parking at Coligny
A plan to start charging for beach parking at major access points on Hilton Head Island, including at Coligny Beach, will be discussed during two public forums Monday.
The town is holding the meetings for residents to make their voices heard on a consultant’s sprawling set of recommendations to overhaul the island’s beach parking.
The two meetings scheduled:
Lowcountry Celebration Park, 94 Pope Ave. (under the pavilion): 9 to 11 a.m.
Hilton Head Island Branch Library, 11 Beach City Road (in the large meeting room): 4 to 6 p.m.
The town is seeking feedback on a report from Walker Consultants that was presented to the Town Council last year.
The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette previously reported that the council in 2020 endorsed but did not officially adopt the firm’s suggestions. Among them: An hourly fee for beach parking between May and September, including at Coligny Beach; a mobile parking app to allow electronic payments; and enforcement and fines for violations.
Jim Corbett, of Walker Consultants, has said the Coligny Beach parking lot and Fish Haul areas should be converted to hourly paid parking to make the island’s beach parking uniform, according to previous reporting from the newspapers.
He suggested several rate schedules, none of which the council directly endorsed last year. The first would charge $4 per hour to park at the south end beach access points, $3 per hour at the mid-island beaches and $2 per hour at the north end beaches during the height of tourism season, May to September.
In the off season, Corbett suggested $2 per hour on the south end, $1.50 per hour mid-island and $1 per hour on the north end, the newspapers reported.
A complete breakdown on the firm’s recommendations can be found online at: bit.ly/ParkingPlanHHI
