BUFFALO, NY (WKBW) — Long-time boaters who dock their boats at the Sun Life Buffalo Harbor Marina are crying foul. They say that as part of being a paying slip holder, they get a parking permit, but too many unauthorized vehicles are taking up their spaces.
They feel locked out of the parking lot and are calling for changes. Some reached out to me, and I'm sharing their voices.
With Buffalo's boating season being considerably short, boaters are eager to make the best of it, but this issue has caused them to hit a snag.
WATCH: Boat slip renters at Sun Life Buffalo Harbor Marina frustrated with unauthorized parking
“When you're a slip holder and you get down here on a Sunday, there's no place to park,” Bill Hamm explained.
Bill and Mary Hamm of Orchard Park said they’ve been at the marina for more than a decade and pay about $2,200 a season for their boat slip.
"It's frustrating when our rates keep going up, up, up, and the service goes down, down, down,” Mary said.
The slip rental includes parking permits for their vehicles, but this past weekend, it was filled with non-permit holders, and they ended up with a city parking ticket for parking on grass.
“We still got a $60 ticket for parking on the grass, which we definitely wouldn't have done if there was more space available,” Bill said.
“We were told, if there's not a spot, park on Furhmann Boulevard. No! Let them park on Furhmann Boulevard,” Mary said.
Wendy Lipinczyk of West Seneca also rents a slip for her boat at the marina.
“This is ridiculous," Lipincyck said. "We came down on Sunday, and there was literally nowhere to park. I had a cart full of stuff for my boat for the beach, and I had two large dogs.”
Boater Sue Hillman has two boats at the marina and is extremely frustrated.
“We spend a lot of money here, we should be able to park,” Hillman said. “I love it here. We loved it so much we bought another boat, that’s how much my husband and I enjoy this place."
The boaters said no one is there to monitor the situation, and they just want the problem fixed. They suggested marina workers keep watch and set up a gate to the parking lot using a "fob" to swipe in for access.
“There should be just some way of policing it better," Lipinczyk said. "I do remember years ago that there might be a kid down here checking passes, and I just don't know if all that stuff went away.”
There are large signs placed at each end of the marina lot to indicate “slip holder parking only."
The general manager of the marina declined an on-camera interview, but issued a statement, saying in part, State parks police patrol and give out tickets, and now, as they prepare for the holiday weekend, they will have employees manning the lot to make sure permit holders only are allowed to park.
"In response to our Marina parking lot. Here is our system:
We hand out packages to every slip holder that has 2 parking permits (that should be placed on the front windshield and visible) along with fobs to get into gates to get down to their boat slip.
We have very large signs placed at each end of the lot that say: Slip Holder Parking only/No parking on Grass and Speed Limit 10.
We have our State Parks Police that patrol the lot and ticket any vehicle that does not comply with above sign.
On Sunday our Parks Police patrolled our parking lot and did a wonderful job of ticketing all vehicles that were not compliant with above sign.
Keep in mind that Sunday was an unexpected /extremely busy day and yes our lot was full.
As for this holiday this is what we are posting on our social media:
Our Southend Entrance will be blocked off. Employees will be manning the lot, to make sure only people with parking permits will be let into slip holder lot.
We are offering rides to people who are parked in the lot that are far away from their gate, they just need to call our store.
This is our community, and we have a system. Hopefully, everyone can follow the rules and enjoy the weekend."
Boaters told me they hope the marina's solution will work for what's expected to be a very busy Fourth of July weekend on beautiful Lake Erie.
