Vroom!

Golf cart, beach permit numbers jump



Claudia Huerta, who works at Cars and Carts at Avenue G and Station Street, hoses the sand and salt off carts parked at the rental business on Sunday, Nov. 23. Golf cart registrations are up in Port Aransas this year.

Claudia Huerta, who works at Cars and Carts at Avenue G and Station Street, hoses the sand and salt off carts parked at the rental business on Sunday, Nov. 23. Golf cart registrations are up in Port Aransas this year.

It wasn’t just your imagination.

You really did see more people on the beach in Port Aransas this past year, and you did see more golf carts on the town’s streets, if sales of beach parking permits and golf cart license plates are good indications.

While 71,679 beach parking permits were sold in 2012 and 89,169 were sold in 2013, a total of 95,480 had been sold this year as of Wednesday, Nov. 19, according to the City of Port Aransas Finance Department.

And while city hall issued 1,601 golf cart license plates in 2012 and 2,010 of them in 2013, that number has increased to 2,460 so far this year, the finance department reported.

Observers say the climbing numbers can be attributed largely to continued growth in Port Aransas tourism fueled by a variety of factors, including wealth created by Eagle Ford Shale drilling activity, growth in San Antonio and Austin and marketing efforts by the Port Aransas Chamber of Commerce Tourist Bureau.

“As the popularity of Port Aransas continues to increase, obviously all our statistics are growing,” said Ann Bracher Vaughan, president and CEO of the chamber.

“Our advertising campaign has netted significant results, so we know that we are attracting many of the new residents to the state as we promote our outstanding venue,” Vaughan said. “Being a golf cart-friendly community is very attractive to many people, and with the increased number of rental cart businesses and the nominal cost to license a cart, it’s easy to see why the numbers have increased.”

Coastal Ed’s Coastal Cruisers & More saw revenue from its cart rental operation go up 10 to 15 percent over the past year, said Ed Wiatt, owner of the business.

“You don’t have to have a boat to have fun around here,” Wiatt said. “This is one of the few places in the state where you can rent and drive a golf cart on city streets. Normally, it would be illegal.”

By city ordinance, carts must have up-to-date registrations with the City of Port Aransas. City hall issues license plates for a $50 annual fee.

City Manager Dave Parsons said city staff is thinking about adding a new feature to its registration program that would allow cart owners to buy personalized license plates. That will cost more than regular plates if the idea becomes reality, he said.

Beach parking permits cost $12 apiece. They’re sold at city hall, the Family Center IGA, convenience stores and by beach vendors.

Identical permits are sold on Mustang and North Padre islands. They allow people to park on any beach operated by the cities of Port Aransas or Corpus Christi or by Nueces County. That accounts for all of Mustang Island and North Padre Island except for the portions operated by Mustang Island State Park, Padre Island National Seashore and Kleberg County.

Beach parking permits aren’t needed for day-use parking at the county-operated I.B. Magee Beach Park in Port Aransas.

The City of Port Aransas uses revenue from permits to pay for beach-related work including seaweed disposal, maintenance of the beach road and portable restroom purchases.

City hall is expected to stop selling 2014 beach parking permit stickers and golf cart license plates this week because it’s so close to the end of the year, when they expire, according to Darla Honea, the city’s finance director.

Honea said she hopes to have the new permit stickers and license plates available by Dec. 15. (Keep watching the South Jetty for updates on this.)

Police will stop enforcing the city ordinances requiring current beach parking permits and license plates after the city stops selling the 2014 versions, but officers will begin enforcing again at some point in January, said Port Aransas Police Lt. James Stokes.


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