Looking for free parking near Narragansett Town Beach? A popular spot could be restricted

NARRAGANSETT – The community's worst kept-secret – free parking near the town beach – could soon be subject to restrictions.

An ordinance that would do away with unlimited free parking along the seawall on Ocean Road passed on a first reading Monday night.

Under the ordinance, parking on Ocean Road between the Beach Street traffic light and South Pier Road would be limited to three hours. The same restriction would also be placed on eight other streets near the beach, including Boon Street, Caswell Street and Narragansett Avenue.

The ordinance would be in force from May 15 to Sept. 15, from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Four out of five Narragansett Town Council members voted in favor of the change on Monday night. (The fifth, Councilwoman Susan Cicilline-Buonanno, abstained.) The ordinance will need to pass on a second reading at a future council meeting before it can go into effect.

"I think it’s a great idea," Narragansett resident Catherine Celeberto told the council.

Another resident, Steven Richards, suggested that Narragansett was making a "tradeoff." People who don't want to limit their beach time to three hours may simply choose not to come, he said.

"There’s a potential for this problem to ultimately affect the use of the town beach, and the income that comes into town beach," he said. (Narragansett Town Beach charges a $12 walk-on fee, and is the only public beach in Rhode Island that charges for admission.)

Attempt to restrict evening beach parking fails

More controversial than the proposal to limit street parking was an attempt to prevent non-residents from using some of the town beach parking lots after 5 p.m.

The motion, introduced by Councilwoman Jill Lawler, failed on a 2-to-2 vote.

Currently, Narragansett Town Beach stops charging for parking in its for lots at 5 p.m., making summer evenings a popular time to head to the beach.

Lawler explained that her goal was to ensure that residents who get done with work at 5 p.m. and want to spend the evening at the beach don't have to "race to get to the beach to get a parking spot," especially on nights when there are concerts and movies.

"This will allow preference for our residents to have parking," she said.

Lawler proposed instituting a residents-only policy for the North Lot and Cabana Lot after 5 p.m., and noted that the beach's two other parking lots would still be open to non-residents.

Council members — and members of the public — were divided on whether such a move was necessary.

"We have no data," said Gina Giramma, who serves on the town's Recreation Advisory Committee. "Obviously, if the lots are full all the time, then there's something that would need to be done. I don't think the data supports that, but I don't know because we don't have the data."

"There are many nights when residents are reluctant to park in the lots because of how full they are," countered Gail Scowcroft, president of Friends of Narragansett Town Beach.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Free parking near Narragansett Town Beach would be limited by ordinance