Parking changes coming to Sound View Beach in Old Lyme

OLD LYME, CT (WFSB) - There’s new pricing and a new way to pay to park at Sound View Beach in Old Lyme.

Parking will soon be $7.50 daily for the first two hours. Each additional hour will cost $6.50 on weekdays and $9.50 on weekends and holidays.

That’s a change from last year when parking was $45 for a half day and $75 for a full day on weekends and holidays and $30 hours for a half day and $45 for a full day on weekdays.

“Yeah, that’s a little high,” Verner Jufufoski said. “Somebody may not have too much money to pay that much. You know, $70, that’s too much.”

The old parking price signs are still up at the parking lots near Sound View Beach but they won’t be for long.

Old Lyme Public Works crews are getting ready for a busy beach season. Part of that includes painting new parking lines and removing the parking kiosks as all payments will be on your mobile device starting this year.

“People can choose how long they want to stay and if time runs out they can be alerted and add time on their phone and say ‘OK I’m going to stay’ or hurry up and go back to their car and leave,” Stephanie Livesey said.

Livesey is the manager of The Pavilion, a beachfront bar and restaurant. She says her business was hurting last year because of the high parking prices.

“Beginning of summer around June-time, people did it,” Livesey said. “After that, if it wasn’t a top ten day, people didn’t feel like it was worth it to spend that much on parking.”

She’s hoping the new payment plan will get people to the beach and her restaurant.

“If you just need to buy a burger, you don’t need to be here for 5 or 10 hours,” Livesey said.

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