VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — Thousands of families packed Volusia County’s beaches Monday for Labor Day, but at several beachfront parks, one thing was missing: parked cars.
The county has coned off on-beach parking spaces in front of a handful of coastal parks this holiday weekend, part of an ongoing effort to put more distance between vehicles and pedestrians walking to and from the sand. It’s the same approach officials tested over Independence Day weekend before bringing it back for Labor Day.
For Lacey Weinbrenner, who brought her grandbaby, son, daughters and son-in-law out to enjoy the holiday, the change is a welcome one.
“I love it because I don’t want her running out in front of a car,” Weinbrenner said. “Cars are supposed to go at the speed limit, but they don’t always, and they’re always sightseeing. And all it takes is a second for her to run out, and me not be able to get there fast enough. So I love that they don’t allow parking right here.”
Weinbrenner said the peace of mind lets her grandbaby move freely between the playground, the water and the beach without the worry of a car pulling in nearby.
Deputy Chief A.J. Miller with Volusia County Beach Safety said the parking restrictions are often misunderstood.
“One misnomer we’ve had is we’re closing off sections of the beach to driving. That’s not accurate,” Miller said. “You can still drive the same amount of miles you could before. We just, those certain parks, we’ve just coned off the parking behind them, but you can still drive through behind those parks.”
Miller said the county has closed parking at three major parks year-round for roughly a decade, and has now expanded that to include four or five additional parks during holiday weekends. He said the goal is to create more separation between cars and beachgoers, particularly families with small children, and to give people who don’t want to drive onto the beach extra room to park and walk down instead.
The Seabreeze approach remains closed to driving as well, though for a different reason. Miller said city inspectors deemed the tunnel structure unsafe to pass through, cutting off beach driving between the Hard Rock Hotel and Seabreeze Boulevard.
Miller said the county is continuously reevaluating safety practices on the beach, whether or not an incident has occurred, and considers the parking changes part of that ongoing effort.
Anyone planning a trip to the beach is encouraged to download the Volusia Beaches app, which provides real-time information on which lifeguard towers and vehicle approaches are open.
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