{"id":332429,"date":"2026-07-07T22:57:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T22:57:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/332429\/"},"modified":"2026-07-07T22:57:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T22:57:17","slug":"st-pete-beach-business-owners-impacted-by-increased-parking-rates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/332429\/","title":{"rendered":"St. Pete Beach business owners impacted by increased parking rates"},"content":{"rendered":"

PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. \u2014 It has been almost three months since parking rates went up on St. Pete Beach, and it’s now impacting tourism and local businesses.<\/p>\n

“Unfortunately, if this doesn\u2019t change, we won\u2019t be able to renew our lease and continue, which stinks,” said Jessica O’Connell, who owns Cool Vibes on the Beach restaurant and bar on St. Pete Beach.<\/p>\n

She said it\u2019s a family-run business, something she holds dear to her heart.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe try to keep the prices a little bit lower, because the beach can get a little bit expensive, so we want to be an affordable place for families without feeling guilty,” said O’Connell.<\/p>\n

WATCH: St.\u00a0Pete Beach business owners impacted by increased parking rates<\/p>\n

St. Pete Beach business owners impacted by increased parking rates<\/p>\n

But lately, fewer people have been walking through the restaurant\u2019s doors.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor people to come from off the beach and come here and patronize these businesses, it\u2019s difficult,” she said.<\/p>\n

St. Pete Beach city leaders voted to increase parking costs to roughly $5-$6 per hour, depending on the time of year.<\/p>\n

The new prices took effect at the end of April. It\u2019s all to help with infrastructure costs and to regulate the limited parking available in the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe prices went up astronomically,” said O’Connell.<\/p>\n

\"St.<\/p>\n

WFTS<\/p>\n

A spokesperson with the City of St. Pete Beach sent a statement in response, saying, \u201cThe city’s parking policies are intended to balance accessibility, turnover, and the efficient use of limited parking spaces for residents, visitors, and business patrons. The city will continue to evaluate its parking program and welcomes community feedback\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Employees at local restaurants said it adds up when they pay for every hour worked.<\/p>\n

Coreena Crawford works at a couple of restaurants on St. Pete Beach, and said something needs to change.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’m having to park past other businesses over a mile away and having to walk, and then if there is parking, the prices\u2026 it’s insane how much I have to pay to just come to work,” said Crawford.<\/p>\n

\"St.<\/p>\n

WFTS<\/p>\n

Both Crawford and O\u2019Connell hope either that more parking spots are made available, or that the city lowers prices in the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love my job here, I love the business, I love the owner\u2026I would love for it work out here,” said Crawford.<\/p>\n

Share Your Story with Casey

Casey Albritton is dedicated to telling your stories throughout South Pinellas County. From St. Petersburg to Largo, she\u2019s there to share the triumphs and struggles of the community she calls home. So, let Casey know about the stories that matter to you.
.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Newly released videos show suspect in patrol car after deadly Ybor City crash<\/p>\n

The Hillsborough State Attorney’s Office released videos from November of 2025, including a video from the Tampa Police Department’s helicopter.<\/p>\n

Newly released videos shows suspect in patrol car after deadly Ybor City crash<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. \u2014 It has been almost three months since parking rates went up on St. Pete…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":332430,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[513,187,137135,12931,596,107032,11566,32542,202,2149,204,203,199,201,200,5910],"class_list":["post-332429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-st-petersburg","tag-beach","tag-city","tag-cool-vibes","tag-parking","tag-pinellas-county","tag-pinellas-news","tag-prices","tag-rates","tag-st-pete","tag-st-pete-beach","tag-st-pete-headlines","tag-st-pete-news","tag-st-petersburg","tag-st-petersburg-headlines","tag-st-petersburg-news","tag-tampa-bay-28"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=332429"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332429\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/332430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=332429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=332429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=332429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}