Poll results

Sonoma County residents were surprised to discover the county had suddenly put up signs demanding $6 to park where it had always been free parking before when two tallships came to Bodega Bay. We ran a poll asking whether unexpected fees for special occasions were appropriate. These are the results of the poll in which 178 voted. A whopping 65 percent opposed the fees  with 115 votes, and 33 percent thought fees were all right with 59 votes, and just 2 percent, four votes, couldn’t make up their minds.

Recently at Fort Ross when a two day celebration of the bicentennial of the historic fort was underway, State Parks raised the entrance fee from $8 to $35, more than quadrupling the cost. A large number of people who had driven a long way to go to the fort turned around disappointed because they couldn’t afford the fee. State Parks says it is a district policy to charge a “special event fee.”