RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. — A new parking program in Riviera Beach is bringing frustration to several employees and shoppers who say the rules are unclear and inconsistent.
We covered the new paid parking regulations when they went into effect in October across the Marina District and Ocean Walk. Under the policy, anyone shopping for longer than two hours has to pay, but some say they’ve been hit with $40 citations, even when staying under the two-hour limit.
Nor Islam works in the plaza and says her friend was one of those people.
“He got a ticket for $40. So it’s kind of inconsistent, I would say, like they’re either on track with ticketing people or they’re not,” said Islam. “Customers are annoyed. They’re bothered. They hate that they have to pay,” said Islam.
WPTV’s Zitlali Solache took those concerns to city officials, who confirmed two parking enforcement officials are currently manually monitoring parking after a permitting issue, which delayed the installation of cameras.
A city spokesperson said if one plans to stay less than two hours, they don’t have to scan the QR code — but that explanation is raising even more questions.
“Then again, how are they keeping track of how long someone is staying, which doesn’t make sense,” said Islam.
Since enforcement began, the city has issued 269 warnings and 448 citations, bringing uncertainty for the future of businesses.
“Some customers, they just want to come inside for like 5-10 minutes, browse and then just leave, so it's kind of like, stressful,” said Islam. “Stressful for them, I feel like and I understand that.”
City officials say camera systems should be up and running by 2026.
“It’s complicated. I think because it's new, it's still like very inconsistent, so it’s gonna take time for everyone to get used to it,” said Islam.
