Forsyth County Approves Nearly $48,000 Ticketing System for Mary Alice Park

The Forsyth County Board of Commissioners approved nearly $48,000 to install a ticketing pass gate at Mary Alice Park, a county-managed day-use site on the western shore of Lake Lanier at 1820 Mary Alice Park Road. Parks Director Kirk Franz told commissioners the gate is intended to end an honor-system approach that county staff and deputies say left a large share of visitors unpaid.

Franz presented the item to commissioners at a Feb. 10 work session and the board voted on the purchase request on Feb. 10, with accounts in the record listing the approved amount as either $47,000 or “nearly $48,000.” Franz requested the purchase as the department moves to tighten enforcement after summer observations that raised compliance concerns.

The new system will issue a ticket to every driver on entry and require payment before exit, Franz said. The gate will integrate a mobile app and QR-code payment function to facilitate exits and will include a special access program for residents with annual attendance passes, along with dedicated entrances for law enforcement and county staff. Franz described the technology as “kind of essentially be like a parking deck experience where you enter and then you have to pay before you leave.”

Forsyth County collected $217,000 in parking fees from Mary Alice Park in 2025, a figure Franz said likely reflects payment by only about half of the park’s visitors; he and staff estimated noncompliance at roughly 25 to 50 percent. Day parking at Mary Alice Park is $10 and annual passes cost $60. Franz said the county expects to recover the gate’s cost quickly, stating, “We feel like we will be able to recoup this cost probably within the summer,” and projecting the change could generate hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional revenue as compliance improves.

Mary Alice Park’s facilities include a boat ramp, a courtesy dock, a picnic pavilion, a sand beach and a swimming area, and the park is described by the Parks Department as one of Forsyth County’s busiest recreation destinations. The department repaved the park’s parking lot last summer at a cost described as hundreds of thousands of dollars, and Franz noted the ongoing operational burden: “It is a very well loved and well used park, and it takes a lot of our staff time and energy and resources to keep that park clean and safe.”

County materials state that parking fee revenue will be contributed to the Park and Recreation general fund to pay for repairs and new amenities. Several operational details remain unspecified in the record: the vendor and installation timeline for the gate, the technical mechanics of annual-pass special access, and any penalties or towing policy for nonpayment were not provided. Franz underscored enforcement intent with a blunt reminder to visitors: “When we say that you have to pay, I'm sorry, but you have to pay.”