Manatee County Coastal Community Declares Local Emergency for July 4th Parking Concerns

BRADENTON BEACH, FL — In anticipation of the upcoming Fourth of July holiday weekend, Bradenton Beach has declared a local state of emergency due to significant parking issues. This announcement comes following incidents during the Memorial Day holiday when many beachgoers disregarded “no parking” signs, as reported by ABC 7.

The state of emergency, set to be in effect from July 4-6, was initiated at the request of Police Chief John Crosby. He emphasized, “It’s not that there’s anything wrong, but we’re trying to be proactive.” According to the Anna Maria Sun, Crosby stated the need to prepare officers for potential chaos and the necessity for overtime compensation under emergency ordinance requirements.

The Bradenton Beach City Council unanimously approved the motion to declare the emergency.

Memorial Day weekend saw an influx of visitors to Bradenton Beach, according to WFLA. Beach parking lots were filled by 10 a.m., leading many drivers to park illegally.

Lt. Lenard Diaz reported, “You can’t park on the side of the road or anything like that, but we had people that holiday weekend parked on side streets, our avenues, just wherever they could find an open space.”

This illegal parking raised safety concerns, particularly for pedestrians, bicyclists, and emergency vehicles. Diaz noted that many visitors seemed unfazed by the increased parking citation fee, which rose from $35 to $75, intended to discourage such parking.

As Diaz explained, “We had a few that said ‘$75? Well, we will pay it, if that is what it costs to be here today. I’ve got a spot, I will pay it, and that will be good.’” He added that there are evident issues with beachgoers ignoring parking regulations. “We’re ticketing, and they’re laughing at our $75 ticket, so that’s something we are going to discuss at the budget meeting,” he noted.

• Location: Bradenton Beach, FL
• Date of Local State of Emergency: July 4-6, 2025
• Reason: Parking violations and safety concerns
• Increased Citation Fee: From $35 to $75
• Police Chief: John Crosby
• Lt. Lenard Diaz’s Comments: Concern over illegal parking creating safety issues
• City Council’s Action: Unanimously passed the emergency declaration