Three parking lots near the Southern Boulevard Bridge that are popular among fishing enthusiasts and people who show up to protest in support of or against former President Donald Trump have been converted from free to paid spots.
The town, which manages the lots, switched the free two-hour parking to metered parking spaces effective June 10. Palm Beach Police spokesman Capt. Rothrock said the change was implemented as part of the town’s six-point parking management plan, which includes converting more free parking spots to metered spaces.
Pricing is set at $5 an hour, and is limited to four hours, according to the ParkMobile app, the paid parking application used by the town.
The parking areas are popularly referred to as the Bingham Island lots because of their proximity to The Bingham Islands nature preserve just south of the bridge.
Rothrock said Palm Beach had scheduled the change earlier this year, but had to wait until the Florida Department of Transportation transferred the the bridge’s right-of-way easement — which governs the bridge’s use and maintenance — to the town.
The ongoing Southern Boulevard Bridge construction project also had delayed the implementation, he noted.
Since its opening in 2022, the bridge, which is officially called the Marjorie Merriweather Post Memorial Causeway, has become a popular spot for recreational fishing.
The bridge’s northeast parking lot, which overlooks Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club, has drawn hundred of his supporters as well people who oppose him since 2016. A May 30 rally brought roughly 20 Trump supporters as well his opponents to the lot to protest the former president's conviction in the New York hush-money trial.
Diego Diaz Lasa is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at dlasa@pbdailynews.com.
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