Parking at the Jersey Shore is about to get pricier. Wildwood Crest's Board of Commissioners has adopted an ordinance doubling the hourly parking meter rate from $1.50 to $3, with the change taking effect for the 2027 season.
The commissioners adopted Ordinance 1500 on Nov. 3, raising the hourly rate on existing metered spaces across the borough, according to nj.com. The outlet reports the change applies only to spaces that are already metered, not new areas of town. It marks the borough's first meter-rate increase since 2009, nj.com notes.
Under borough code, a vehicle can't legally sit in a metered space for more than eight hours, which at the new rate would run a visitor $24 for a full day at the shore, per the same report. The beaches themselves remain free, with no beach tags required to enjoy the sand, nj.com adds.
Where the Meters Are and When They're Enforced
Wildwood Crest's borough code designates its paid-parking zones as Atlantic Avenue between Cresse and Jefferson Avenues, plus the area east of Atlantic Avenue out to the beach bulkhead, according to Borough of Wildwood Crest code, Chapter 47. The code leaves the specific hours and operating periods for those zones up to a resolution of the Board of Commissioners, the same code shows.
The newly adopted ordinance sets enforcement for May 15 through Sept. 30, 2027, running from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., the station's report notes. That schedule covers the peak tourism stretch when shore towns typically see their heaviest parking demand.
What the Meters Have Been Bringing In
Wildwood Crest collected roughly $475,000 in meter revenue in 2025, according to citizenportal.ai, which also reports that officials had discussed extending meter enforcement through Sept. 30 and noted the rate had sat at $1.50 since Feb. 25, 2009, without an increase.
Wildwood Crest isn't the only Cape May County municipality rethinking its parking math this year. Cape May City introduced an ordinance amendment that would extend its paid-parking season by three months, through Dec. 31, in nearly all of its parking zones, according to the Cape May County Herald. The same proposal would set rates at $2 per hour uniformly across the zones marked green, orange, and blue on the city's parking map, the Herald reports.
Not Every Shore Town Is Going the Same Direction
Paid parking hasn't landed everywhere along the county's coastline. Lower Township's council voted on May 18 to rescind two ordinances that would have brought paid parking to the Diamond Beach section after summer residents pushed back against the plan, the Cape May County Herald reported. The township had lined up an agreement with the ParkMobile app to collect per-use fees there instead of installing physical meters or kiosks, per the same report.
That reversal stands in contrast to Wildwood Crest's move forward and to Cape May's proposed expansion, underscoring how parking policy varies block by block along the Jersey Shore even as towns face similar pressures to fund municipal services.
