Fishers reduces Geist beach parking fees for out-of-towners
Loading the kiddos in the car for a day at Geist Waterfront Park will cost half as much this summer as it did last for beach-goers who live outside Fishers.
On some days, it won't cost anything at all.
The Fishers City Council approved a parking lot rate reduction from $50 to $25 per day for outside visitors to the beach at Olio Road and 109th Street. The fee applies from Memorial Day to Labor Day during the weekend and holidays but it will be rescinded altogether on weekdays, the city’s Recreation and Wellness Director Jake Reardon-McSoley said. Fishers residents are admitted free.
The change to the controversial fee structure was prompted by lower-than-predicted attendance at the beach in its inaugural year last summer. Officials had levied the charge to limit the number of visitors from outside so Fishers residents, whose taxes paid for the $16 million beach, could be more assured of room to park.
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Reardon-McSoley said attendance was depressed last year by Canadian wildfire smoke and cool summer days. It was closed 16 days, three of those because of unhealthy water quality and a few days because of smoke. On twenty days the temperature did not top 80 degrees, he said.
The beach has 220 parking spaces and a total of 9,867 vehicles parked there last year for an average of 115 cars per day, according to city figures. That translated to 17,716 people or an average of 206 per day. But beachgoers, even non-residents, also walked, rode their bikes or got dropped off at the beach for free admittance.
The $50 fee was criticized last year by two councilors who voted against it and social media commenters as exclusionary and not very neighborly, especially to nearby residents of Lawrence, McCordsville and Fortville.
Former Councilor Jocelyn Vare still questions why any fee at all still needs to be charged since one of its main purposes was to prevent overcrowding, which doesn't appear will be a problem.
This year the city is eliminating an electronic smart pass system and Fishers drivers will only need to show a booth attendant their driver’s licenses to gain free entry. Fadness said more than 15,000 residents signed up for the smart pass, which indicated a high level of interest in the beach even if patronage was lower than projected.
“So, just understand that this is a measured approach because had those 15,000 activated, you would have had quite a traffic phenomenon on Olio Road,” Fadness said at a recent city council meeting.
In response to a query by Councilor Bill Stuart, who favors and an even lower fee, Reardon-McSoley and Fadness said at the meeting they will examine a way to waive the parking fee for an out-of-city grandparent or guardian who is chauffeuring Fishers children to the beach.
Call IndyStar reporter John Tuohy at 317-444-6418. Email at john.tuohy@indystar.com and follow on X/Twitter and Facebook.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Fishers reduces Geist Waterfront Park parking fees for out-of-towners
