BETHANY BEACH, Del.- Tom Gentile pulls into a parking space in Bethany Beach, gets out and starts to walk. Easy peasey. It's the off-season.
It's free to park in Bethany Beach until May 15th, after that Gentile stays away, "As a local we just don't even come to park between May and September it's is is too crowded for one thing and it's it was expensive parking."
The town is looking to raise street parking fees from 2.50 to 3 dollars due to a rise in summer costs and Gentile understands, "They're gonna raise money somehow and this is probably a better way to do it. if you're local. you don't want your property taxes going up."
But some visitors disagree, like Jane Fontaine who has a home in Bethany Beach but lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, "Well, I thought last summer they were too high."
Some who have been coming to Bethany Beach for a lifetime like Victoria Quattro think that raising prices make it hard on both locals and visitors, "Makes it hard for families to put Bethany on the list, lets make this a family vacation, I think this is more of a high dollar spot."
A public hearing on proposed budget changes that include raising the hourly parking cost is set for March 13th at town hall in Bethany Beach.