Management of the Wharfside Village shopping center, home of the Beach Bar, et. al, has begun charging for parking in the garage. The cost is $3 an hour.
Ric Weinschenk, the parking manager, told the St. John Source that a survey he conducted found as many as 50 percent of 45 spaces were being occupied by people who were not shopping or working there. The purpose of charging is to make those spaces available for people who want to patronize the mall's merchants, he expained.
Weinschenk also said new lighting and security measures have been installed to make the garage safer.