Under the new prices, residents will pay $13.83 to park on weekends, and $9.57 on weekdays.
State sales tax will be added to the parking fees at three shoreline parks this weekend at Sherwood Island State Park, Hammonasset Beach State Park, and Rocky Neck State Park. That's thanks to a legislative change in the state budget which went into effect July 1st.
Under the new prices, residents will pay $13.83 to park on weekends and $9.57 on weekdays.
Susan Whalen is with the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. She said her agency learned of the change the day before the state budget passed. And she gets that $13.83 is a weird amount to charge for parking -- but she says adjusting the price isn't that simple.
"There's a whole regulatory process that we have to follow by statute that allows for a public hearing, and input," Whalen said. "So it takes time to accomplish all that. It also has to go before a legislative committee called the Regulations Review Committee -- and so that has to be scheduled. So, in essence, it takes time to implement all that."
In the meantime, Whalen said cash registers at the shoreline state parks have been reprogrammed to try to speed up the lines for beachgoers this weekend.
