Beach Parking

Q: Why does Central Elgin charge for parking?

A: Operating and maintaining a large public beach is costly. Central Elgin provides lifeguards and washrooms. The beach is raked regularly. Garbage and recycling cans must be emptied. Parking revenue helps fund these services.

Q: How can I pay for parking?

A: There are two ways to pay for parking in Port Stanley. Visitors can pay for parking with Honk or with any Pay-by-Plate machine. 

Pay for parking with Honk:

Central Elgin has added Honk's payment technology to the main beach parking lot, the west harbour parking lot and the boat launch parking lot. Visitors heading to Port Stanley have two ways to pay:

1) Download the free HonkMobile app from the AppStore or Google Play, or

2) Tap your phone on tap-to-pay smart stations for a quick checkout experience

You can also purchase hourly or season parking passes by visiting https://www.honkmobile.com/monthly/zones/9485.

Pay for parking with Pay-by-Plate machines:

Paying for parking with Pay by Plate takes only 3 simple steps. Customers park, walk up to ANY Pay-by-Plate machine, punch in their licence plate, and make payment by credit card or cash (quarters, loonies and toonies, some machines accept $5 and $10 bills). 

Q: Do customers need to place the receipt on the dashboard?

A: No, with Pay by Plate it is not necessary to display the receipt on the dashboard.

Q: How do by-law enforcement officers know that I have paid?

A: With this new technology, once by-law enforcement officers scan the license plate, the paid/unpaid status of vehicles will be displayed on their tablets. That's why it is no longer necessary to display the receipt on the dashboard.

Q: Do we need to remember our licence plate every time we walk up to the Pay-by-Plate machine to pay for parking?

Q: Why is Central Elgin using Pay by Plate parking?

A: Pay-by-Plate offers several advantages for parking customers:

• Receipts do not work well for convertibles and motorcycles;
• Receipts show thieves when the car owner plans to return; and
• Pay and Display was unfriendly for users as they had to walk back to the vehicle to display the receipt.

Pay-by-Plate parking systems offer lower set-up and operating costs. Lower costs mean more revenue for maintaining and improving the beach area.

Q: How can I pay my parking ticket?

A: Parking tickets can be paid by mail or in person at 480 Sunset Drive, St. Thomas, ON, N5R 0J5. Payments can also be made by phone, at 519-631-1460 Ext. 300 with credit card information.

Q: How do I dispute a ticket?

A: In order to request a review of your ticket, you will need to fill out a Parking Offences Review Form and submit to our office. 

Please note: Our officers do take pictures of the full area at the time they issue a ticket for reference and support.