Parking problems frustrating Lowdermilk Beach attendees

Hours-long parking or inflated parking prices: We are at the peak of spring break right now and seeing a tale of two different coasts.

Last week, we saw Miami Beach break up with spring breakers. This weekend was the first weekend since the break-up, and it’s clear the sanctions are working, as people are being forced to pay $100 for parking, and if you park in the wrong spot, you get towed, and getting your car back is not cheap.

Now, about two hours away, here on our coast, people trying to enjoy the beach are having problems as well.

• RELATED: What will spring break mean for Fort Myers Beach?

At some places, people are waiting nearly 40 minutes just to park at Lowdermilk Beach.

Parking at the beach on a Monday during spring break in 80-degree weather is tough. We know this, but it doesn’t stop us from trying to get to the sand and the surf at Lowdermilk Beach; the line to get in was long.

“It was like a 25-minute wait to get into our parking place. We had to really wait, and people are getting a little testy out there or so,” said Linda McGee, a beachgoer.

McGee said she did not enjoy this part of her day. Not for a moment.

“It was at a standstill, and then people were mad at us because they couldn’t get around us because they were trying to get out of the parking lot, so we had some guy come over and bang on the window and say could we at least move over,” she said.

We asked Naples Mayor Teresa Heitman what she suggests beachgoers do to ease their parking stress. She said that while we’re used to crowded parking lots this time of year, Naples is also growing.

You can go onto the city website, and it will show you the areas that have parking available so that you’re not driving around.

Good news for Naples and the other beaches up and down our Gulf Coast? Everyone we met said the reward was worth the hassle.