May 03, 2018
Thom Carroll/PhillyVoice
This is the famous Wildwoods sign on Wildwood boardwalk.
After a lot of hype and even more disappointment, Wildwood is once again promising on-beach parking, starting daily this Memorial Day, after postponing the plan last year.
With shore towns notorious for meager street parking options, especially during peak season, Wildwood City Commissioners unanimously voted last year to allow parking on a beach lot near Baker Avenue.
The weather last summer, however, did not accommodate.
To get the beach lot up and running for vehicles, a pathway was needed to tunnel under the boardwalk and stop at the beach, where pounded sand and parking attendants would be waiting to accommodate cars. Bad weather last year, however, made it impossible to work on making the tunnel big enough to accommodate all vehicles.
Since delaying the plan last July, the tunnel has since been cleared and is now ready to welcome cars. The project cost an estimated $45,000, the Press of Atlantic City reported.
The lot will be near the Wildwoods Convention Center, on Baker Avenue, where there will also be a ticket booth. Officials estimate the new parking will bring about six figures of surplus cash to the region.
Parking will begin weekends starting Memorial Day and become daily the third week of June.
Day passes will go for $10, between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Though daytime hours are the norm, there may be night parking options during special events. Special event parking passes would run at $20.
The beach area near Baker Avenue is not near to the ocean, so as to avoid people setting up a tailgate after parking. Guests are expected to set up shop on a different beach area.
