Visitors to some parks on Lake Lanier need to remember to bring their credit cards with them when they visit this summer, since the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers no longer accepts cash payment for admission.
New fee machines became operational at 12 parks on April 1, and according to Corps officials, the machines are working well for them.
"We have found that they're extrement efficient...much safer, since there's no cash involved," said Nicholas Baggett, the Corps' Resource Manager for Lake Lanier in a recent interview with AccessWDUN.
"In the past we had an honor vault system where people would fill out a card envelope and tear off a receipt and put it on their rear-view mirror and then we would go around and collect those monies," Baggett said. "It was kind of dangerous for people to be collecting money who were not armed or law enforcement types."
He said the old vaults also were attractive to thieves who would break into them and steal the cash.
Baggett said the new machines "are working out great." Still, he doesn't want visitors to be surprised when they show up at the parks this spring and summer and discover they need a credit card for payment.
The 12 parks where the machines are in use are:
- Buford Dam Park
- Burton Mill
- Keiths Bridge
- Lanier Park
- Little Hall
- Long Hollow
- Lower Pool East
- Lower Pool West
- Old Federal Day Use
- Two Mile Creek
- Van Pugh North
- West Bank
Baggett said there are 14 Corps-managed parks on Lake Lanier that do not require usage fees.
