Thousands of families and friends choose our area to vacation during the Spring, Summer, and Fall months, so whether you’re driving in for the day or planning to bike into town for the afternoon, there’s an easy way for everyone to get to Seaside, and we offer plenty of options.
With many years of parking studies and an entire season of day rate parking, we have evolved to a new hourly parking plan to serve our out-of-town and local visitors better. Beginning March 1, 2022, our new hourly variable paid parking program will be in effect. Parking rates will vary by day, occupancy levels, and seasons. This will allow us to maintain vacancies and give our guests the best chance to find a spot.
Similar to last year, the paid parking experience will have visitors park their vehicle on Smolian Circle with the assistance of friendly parking attendants who help guide you in downloading the payment app or you can download The Passport Parking app in advance.
Thousands of families and friends choose our area to vacation during the Spring, Summer, and Fall months, so whether you’re driving in for the day or planning to bike into town for the afternoon, there’s an easy way for everyone to get to Seaside, and we offer plenty of options.”
The Passport Parking app can be downloaded here for those who wish to prepare in advance.
For locals, we are happy to offer a local hourly rate. Upon arrival, locals will need to provide a local Florida ID to the parking attendant. The discount will be applied and stay with their account for return visits.
The below map outlines the location of hourly parking along Smolian Circle.
In addition to the hourly parking program, we have increased the number of shuttles, bike racks, and added additional golf cart spaces. Our complimentary shuttle services pick-up on the east side of Highway 283 in Grayton Beach, across from the Shops of Grayton in a public parking lot. Park in the lower lot, and the shuttle will arrive within 15 minutes and drop guests off under the Lyceum Archway in the center of Seaside. The shuttle is available to guests and employees and runs daily from 6 a.m. to midnight. See the map below on where to catch the shuttle and the route.
Some of our most frequently asked questions about our parking management program have been:
“Why make people pay for parking?”
If you have ever driven to Seaside during the spring and summer, you know that historically, it could be quite the hassle, sometimes searching for a space for up to an hour. Seaside has always strived to offer services and programs that are focused on enhancing the guest experience. The implementation of parking management has greatly reduced the volume of vehicles lined up, circling for a parking space. By providing more readily available spaces, drivers are more focused on the roadway instead of searching for a parking space, leaving pedestrians feeling safer and drivers less stressed from reduced traffic congestion.
“I miss the old days! Why can’t Seaside stay the same?”
Due to the attractive lifestyle, culture, and ever-growing popularity of our town’s merchants and restaurants, people have grown to love our area; with growth comes change. We have monitored the growth over the past several years and have made adjustments to make your experience as enjoyable as possible.
“There’s already not enough parking.”
People intuitively understand that if you give something away for free, you’ll run out of it, which applies to parking. The idea is to price parking so that there’s always ten to fifteen percent vacancy so that you can have that “good old days” experience of driving up to the place you want to go and easily find a spot, which is something you couldn’t do before.
“You’re just doing this to make money.”
The implementation of parking management in Seaside has always focused on the management of our available parking resources and ensuring that a proper balance of vacancies and occupancies exist for our visitors. All proceeds from the program are used to operate the complimentary shuttle service that we offer in tandem to the parking management program.
New Seaside hourly parking plan and Passport Parking App
