REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. - In just a few months, meters will be uncovered, and it will be difficult to find a parking spot in the nation’s summer capital. Currently, parking costs $4 an hour from May 15 through Sept. 15.
During Monday’s city meeting, a commissioner asked Assistant City Manager Evan Miller whether the city could lower parking rates on less busy weekdays, such as Tuesday through Thursday.
Miller said the city has the ability to reconfigure the parking system, but doing so would take time to set up the programming and ensure the public is properly informed.
Christine Moore, who lives in Rehoboth Beach, said parking challenges keep her and others from coming downtown during the summer.
“I will only walk downtown in the summer, or I won’t go at all,” Moore said. “I have a lot of friends who live in Lewes, Millsboro, and Milton, and they just don’t come here in the summer.”
She said the issue has also affected church attendance. “You have to go early, early in the morning, or else you can’t. We have a lot of people who don’t come down to church anymore,” Moore said.
Frequent visitor David Bradley said lowering parking rates could help residents, visitors, and local businesses.
“Everything’s getting more expensive,” Bradley said. “It’d be nice to get a break on something like parking, which actually helps the local merchants and the economy of the area.”
Commissioner Suzanne Goode said at the meeting she has been advocating for lower parking rates on certain days of the week and believes it could help increase city revenue. She noted that with February already underway, time is limited to make changes before the upcoming summer season.
Parking revenue in Rehoboth Beach fell during fiscal year 2026, coming in nearly $1 million below projections. The city reported $10.1 million in parking revenue, down from $10.6 million in fiscal year 2025.
Commissioner Craig Thier said the idea has been discussed for more than a year but does not believe it is realistic to implement changes for summer 2026. He said the issue should be a priority for next year and added that studies on congestion pricing would be needed.