$100 Parking Fines Approved in Hampton

People who travel to Hampton and park in resident only areas will face a fine of $100 after the board of selectmen voted on the issue Monday night.

Four selectmen voted to move forward with changes to the town's parking ordinance. Board Member Regina Barnes abstained after voicing her objections.

"We live in a tourist town. People have been parking in front of people's houses for 40 years here. We created a problem last year when we closed the boulevard and everything got shifted north," Barnes said.

"It always gets shifted north, but all the mayhem that happened down at the main beach got shifted north, and irritated the people that live down on the north shore," Barnes continued.

Resident only parking will be on town roads near Hampton Beach and at North Beach.

Jennifer Hale, director of the public works department, said the parking restrictions will last from May 15 to Oct. 15. She has ordered over 200 signs to help spread the message.

There are privately owned parking lots and ones which are run by the state, so tourists will still be able to find places to park.

Officials at the NH Department of Natural and Cultural Resources Division of Parks and Recreation estimated in 2019 that on an average summer day, there are 40,000 people on Hampton Beach, which is owned by the state.

On a busy summer day, that number swells to 80,000 people or more, according to officials.

Contact Managing News Editor Kimberley Haas at Kimberley.Haas@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @KimberleyHaas.