Like it or not, you’ll pay to park at Mukilteo beach

We all have our superpowers. Superman can fly. The Hulk can smash. I have the uncanny ability to find free street parking.

Sporting events, concerts, you name it. Even in a crowd, there’s a good chance I will find a free spot. I’ll arrive as someone is leaving and swoop in for one of those precious spaces along the curb. What can I say? It’s a gift.

I’m afraid those of us with this power will be sorely tested this summer at Lighthouse Park in Mukilteo. With hardly any street parking, you have basically no option but to park in the main lot. That will soon cost $1 or $2 an hour for those of us who don’t live in the city.

Our latest non-scientific poll at HeraldNet.com indicates you are not happy about this. More than 72 percent said they would find something else to do rather than pay the fee; only 18 percent said they’d pay; and the rest, maybe out of spite, said they wouldn’t go there anyway.

So, you 72 percenters, what are you going to do instead for your nature fix?

You could go to a state park, but you’d need a Discover Pass to park there. If you’d like to visit a national forest, you’ll need to buy another pass for that. How about a national park? That’s $15 at the gate.

There’s a reason there are fewer free options to enjoy the great outdoors each year. Through our votes and those of our representatives, the people have spoken, and we’ve decided that parks should rely more on user fees and less on tax money.

So, let’s face it. You’re still going to go to Lighthouse Park, and you’re going to pay — unless your superpower is invisibility.

— Doug Parry, Herald Web editor: dparry@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @parryracer

Next, we want to know how optimistic you are about the upcoming baseball season: