Wondering if something like 89 cents of each dollar collected for daytime parking fees goes directly towards funding of the manufacturing, installation and maintenance of enforcement related warning signs, kiosks, pay boxes, fluorescent placards, and the manufacturing and distribution of enforcement related literature, blank forms and documentation materials.

I have purchased a daytime parking pass for WA State Parks every year since the pass was first required.

I don’t purchase the pass because I believe in it. Taxes are meant to pay for parks. I purchase the pass to avoid being hassled.

I love the parks. I’m sure many good people work for the parks. Somewhere up in the chain of command, things don’t look right.

In the past few months, I have spent time in various state parks in different parts of the state.

Fort Ebey

The blacktop road to the beach is trashed and has been for years now.

A showroom quality fleet of vehicles are driven by parks staff on the property.

Are the trucks changed out for new when they are only 12 months old?

Oyhut State Park Ocean Beach Access

The parking area features ponding water and blacktop that was worn out a long time ago.

If the parks require a daytime parking fee, we should see parks that have been well maintained.

Fort Casey

Several years ago at Fort Casey in the camping area near the ferry dock:

All of the metal fire rings were replaced. Not a few that were damaged or worn out, but every single one.

How can this be justified?

Daytime parking pass fees are also used to fund the manufacturing, installation and maintenance of sturdy gates to keep you and your annual parking pass out of selected parks during winter months.

Park shown here (Rosario Beach) is located at sea level. More fees should bring greater access, not less.

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I’d like to think that purchasing a Washington State Parks Discover Pass means no further hassles as long as the pass is not expired and displayed while parked.

Enforcement and over supervision are the first impressions of an afternoon getaway.

Driving over to the local state park these days is like asking permission to enter a military base.

Old policy:

People who need to register to camp must stop at the guard shack to sign in & pay.

People who are in the middle of their camping stay & people who have already purchased a valid daytime parking pass use the lane provided to bypass the cars, RVs and camp trailers waiting in line to register.

New policy:

A portable stop sign has been set up to get both lanes of inbound traffic to stop and show the pass before entering the park.

Twice now, I have stopped to show the pass and then I have been reminded to remember to display the pass properly after parking so that I do not receive a citation. Elementary school field trip levels of supervision are in place. I am an adult. If I have done nothing wrong, please let me travel along without any forced interaction with parks staff. The parks are where we go to get away from the grind of everyday life. Let’s go with innocent until proven guilty sorts of protocols here.

In Washington, you may use your discover pass for two vehicles. Vehicle license numbers must be recorded on the pass for the pass to be valid.

Down in Oregon, you are free to enter state parks without being stopped and asked to show your parking pass.

In Oregon, there is no requirement to enter any vehicle license number on the pass. Driving a new car? A rental car? The church van? A borrowed car? Aunt Mary’s car on family reunion weekend? No problem. Enjoy your day.

People who are willing to purchase a parks pass should face a very minimum in the way of hassles. Oregon comes out way ahead of Washington on this.

Related:

Enjoy Washington’s Natural Heritage

Another Season – Another WA State Parks Checkpoint

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Photo- Indian Beach, Oregon

When the WA State Parks Discover Pass first came out it was for parking, not for access to parks.

The pass was not required for a short bathroom break:

“The new rules allow some leeway. At Battle Ground Lake, for example, four 15-minute parking spaces allow visitors to swing in for a bathroom break or to retrieve belongings they left behind. No pass required.”

Today- the pass is used as a credential to gain access to parks when they are constructed to allow a military style checkpoint at the park entrance.

Before the Discover Pass we had the original Natural Investment Pass. I have been paying for these passes since they came out early in this century.

My parent’s generation introduced me to Washington State Parks in the 1970s. Somehow, daytime visits to WA State Parks were covered by taxes in those days. We were able to get in & out of parks for the afternoon without any requirement to interact with state parks authorities or volunteers. The Park Ranger was the local expert and could provide info on beaches, birds, trees and animals to anyone who was interested.

Today- over supervision and enforcement is the vibe.

Midday April 15th, 2018

I arrive at Fort Ebey to get out for an hour or two. A portable stop sign has been placed at the park entrance. I stop and show my valid pass.

The response should have been Thank You.

We weren’t done yet. Having me stopped was a chance to deliver a mini-lecture/reminder that I should take care to properly display my Discover Pass when I park because a ticket was recently written for someone who did not do so.

I would have just driven on if all I was asked to do is show the pass- even though I do not believe this should be a requirement to enter the park. Reminders about properly displaying the parking pass and warnings about tickets feel like babysitting.

I told the park entrance person that I was old school and that I’d been using the parks since the 70s and that I don’t feel there is any need for a guilty until proven innocent checkpoint to look for parking passes.

If people have done nothing wrong they should be left alone to go about their day. Paying for the pass should mean not getting hassled on the way into the park.

Being stopped before parking to show the parking pass that is required to be displayed while parking (under threat of citation) seems redundant.

More here:

Wondering if something like 89 cents of each dollar collected for daytime parking fees goes towards funding enforcement related warning signs, kiosks, pay boxes, fluorescent placards, etc.

Enjoy Washington’s Natural Heritage

Nobody mans the checkpoint during the offseason. We are free to enter the park & display the pass after parking without any additional supervision or interaction with park staff.

Two Bluff Trails

Wondering if something like 89 cents of each dollar collected for daytime parking fees goes directly towards funding of the manufacturing, installation and maintenance of enforcement related warning signs, kiosks, pay boxes, fluorescent placards, and the manufacturing and distribution of enforcement related literature, blank forms and documentation materials.

Daytime parking pass fees are also used to fund the manufacturing, installation and maintenance of sturdy gates to keep you and your annual parking pass out of selected parks during winter months.

Park shown below (Rosario Beach) is located at sea level.

Welcome Visitors

Rent yourself a State Parks buoy at Fort Worden

Voted best consumer value in weekend recreation.

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