Beach Parking

Parking FAQ

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 does Pay-by-Plate work?

A: 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?

A: Yes. If you have difficulty remembering your licence plate, you can take a picture of your licence plate with your mobile phone, or write the information on a card and keep it in your wallet.

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 online?

A: Visit https://www.paytickets.ca/start and choose "County of Elgin - St. Thomas."

 Pay By Plate

Paying for parking with Pay by Plate takes only 3 simple steps:

1. Customers park, walk up to ANY Pay-by-Plate machine

2. Punch in their licence plate

3. Make a payment by credit card or cash. (Quarters, loonies and toonies, are preferred; some machines accept $5 and $10 bills). 

 Seasonal Passes

Seasonal passes are available for $100 + HST for a single vehicle.

Seasonal passes are available for $120 + HST for vehicles pulling boat trailers.  

Passes can be purchased at the Central Elgin Municipal Office at:

450 Sunset Drive, St. Thomas (Monday to Friday, 8:30-4:30)

or

GT's On the Beach at 350 Edith Cavell Blvd in Port Stanley (Vehicle Passes $113 only)

Pay-By-Phone

Skip the line up at the meter by downloading the free app, MacKay Pay, or visit mackaypay.com and create an account. 

Instructions:

Zone numbers for the lots in the vicinity of Main Beach are as follows:

• Zone 3080 - Main Beach Lot
• Zone 3081 - Old Ball Park
• Zone 3082 - Pierside Beach
• Zone 3083 - Boat Launch
• Zone 3084 -Former Lakes Terminal Property

A map of parking zones is available.

There are signs posted that indicate what zone you are parking in. If you are parking with a boat and trailer, no matter what zone you are in, you must use Boat Launch Zone 3083. Rates are the same as purchasing time at the parking meters, however there is a .35 cent administration fee.

Just enter your license plate number, length of stay, and credit card information, and hit the beach!

The MacKay Pay app allows you to extend your length of stay, and sends a reminder before your time expires.