NewsPinellas County

Actions

Clearwater preps for busy Spring Break season

Free park and ride program is coming back
Posted at 4:11 PM, Feb 22, 2019
and last updated 2019-02-22 17:37:03-05

CLEARWATER BEACH, Fla. — Clearwater leaders are prepping for the biggest spring break yet. They just approved new changes that will make getting onto Clearwater Beach a little easier.

During peak Spring Break season, 30,000 cars will make their way around the Clearwater Beach round-a-bout every day.

This Spring Break, Clearwater leaders want to entice you to try something new. You can park for free downtown and hop on the trolly or the ferry instead.

City leaders just voted to chip in $10,000 to help the Clearwater Ferry add more boats.

“It gets really busy. our peak days last year had up to 2,000 passengers a day so you can imagine our small pontoon boats going back and forth,” Camille Hebting, who works for Clearwater Ferry explained.

New this year, you can make reservations for the ferry weeks in advance!

The ferry will cost you $4 each way. The trolley, however, won’t cost you a dime.

The free trolley park and ride begins March 1st. The Clearwater Ferry will start running extra boats beginning March 8th.

Over the past two years, four new hotels have opened on Clearwater Beach, so city leaders say parking and traffic could be a bit trickier this Spring Break.

“It’s hard to park and difficult to get here, but it's worth it. It's all worth it when you get to the beautiful beach,” beach visitor Brenda White Ford said with a smile.