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beach parking

    SUMMER PARKING

    Latest Plan Keeps Number of Eastham Resident Spots the Same

    But erosion and bath houses mean fewer places at Nauset Light Beach

    By

    EASTHAM –– The town and the National Seashore are close to finalizing a plan for parking at both the Coast Guard Beach and the reconfigured Nauset Light Beach lots this summer. Overall, Eastham residents will get about the same number of spots they’ve had since the last parking plan was made five years ago.

    At Coast Guard Beach, residents will gain 4 to 14 spots, depending on the time of day. The plan calls for a total of 24 spots reserved for Eastham residents, but of those, 10 would be set aside for park ranger programming each morning until 11. Previously, the total number of spots reserved for residents at Coast Guard Beach was 10.

    The updated parking arrangement at Coast Guard Beach would increase the number of spots reserved for Eastham residents by 24 after ranger programs end at 11 a.m. (Image courtesy Cape Cod National Seashore)

    At Nauset Light Beach, 15 resident-only spaces have been lost. Proportionally, the agreement holds steady the residents’ share of available spaces. It reserves 57 spots (or 39 percent of the total), including three accessible spots, for Eastham residents. Previously, Eastham had 62 spots (38 percent of the total).

    Erosion is the main culprit in the losses at the Nauset Light lot, said member Aimee Eckman at the select board’s March 28 meeting. After a February storm closed the lot for several days, the Seashore installed a new fence along the ocean side to keep visitors from getting too close to the edge.

    Anticipating further erosion, the Seashore is building bath houses at Nauset Light as far as possible from the ocean. In January, Cape Cod National Seashore Supt. Brian Carlstrom said the Seashore hopes to get 20 years of use out of the new bath houses.

    Those bath houses, too, are occupying space previously devoted to parking. One change that will make up for some lost spots: the Seashore will reduce the width of all parking spaces from 10 to 9 feet.

    The Park is also considering another change. Select board chair Art Autorino reported on March 28 that, “after lots of discussion,” Carlstrom agreed to meet with town officials to discuss permitting visitors to be dropped off at Nauset Light — an idea the Park has previously opposed.

    Now, Eastham residents will enter to the right of the visitor fee booth at Nauset Light. The path to the beach will also be moved. (Image courtesy Cape Cod National Seashore)

    Autorino also said that the Seashore plans to explore the potential of a satellite parking site across from Nauset Regional High School. The Seashore owns a swath of woods on Cable Road and will need to come up with a parking solution once erosion wipes out the current Nauset Light parking lot.

    “I think it could only benefit us, as a town, and the school for events happening in the new performing arts center once it’s built,” Eckman said of the idea. Town Administrator Jacqui Beebe noted that the Seashore is taking a “serious” look at expanding its shuttle service to Nauset Light. The shuttle currently runs from Little Creek Parking Area on Doane Road to Coast Guard Beach.

    Also on March 28, the select board announced that the dept. of public works and the Seashore are planning to build a sidewalk down the length of Cable Road. A small sidewalk currently runs from the Three Sisters lighthouses to Ocean View Drive.

    The contract has not yet been signed, but the Seashore came to the town with the new numbers, according to Eckman. “We pitched the idea of managing the parking lot and giving all the parking to Eastham residents,” said Autorino at the select board’s March 7 meeting. “That was about a two-nanosecond conversation,” he added.

    The 1963 deeds that transferred property from the town to the Seashore specified that Eastham residents be allowed to park and swim at Coast Guard and Nauset Light beaches without charge. An Eastham beach sticker is still required to prove residency and costs $25, according to the town’s website.

    Over the years, access to the beaches for local residents has been an ongoing concern. The every-five-year parking plan agreement between town and Park became the norm in 2007, explained Eckman.

    The bath houses at Nauset Light Beach on March 11. (Photo by Nancy Bloom)

    In 2005, a group called the Eastham Ocean Beach Committee attempted to persuade voters to support the construction of a new town-owned beach and parking lot on Ocean View Drive between Coast Guard and Nauset Light. The idea failed to win a two-thirds majority vote at town meeting, Eckman said.

    At the time, Eckman joined the Eastham Citizens for Responsible Coastal Development, which opposed the plan. Clearing trees for pavement and the maintenance demands of another lot were their main objections, Eckman said.

    In 2007, the town and the Seashore agreed to the every-five-year routine of setting aside a certain number of parking spaces for Eastham residents, she said.

    WELLFLEET: THIS WEEK'S CURRENTS

    Parking at Lecount Hollow

    By

    Most meeting in Wellfleet are remote only, but some are being held in person. Go to wellfleet-ma.gov and click on the meeting you want to watch, then follow the instructions on the agenda.

    Thursday, March 31

    • Nauset Regional School Committee, 6 p.m.

    Friday, April 1

    • Select Board, 5:30 p.m.

    Monday, April 4

    • Dredging Task Force, 7 p.m.

    Wednesday, April 6

    • Conservation Commission, 4 p.m.

    Conversation Starters

    Parking at Lecount Hollow

    After a blizzard on Jan. 28, the Lecount Hollow Beach parking lot was closed because it was “dangerous,” Director of Community Services Suzanne Grout Thomas told the Independent.

    It recently reopened following repairs, though cars are still prohibited from parking at the far end of the lot. The storm eroded the dune so that the asphalt extended over the undermined sand.

    “It was blocked off until the DPW could go in and do some remediation to make it safe,” Grout Thomas said. That effort included cutting back the asphalt and erecting concrete barriers.

    The DPW will make the final adjustments to the lot “after we’re sure all the winter storms have come and gone,” she said.

    Future repairs include cutting a new trail to the beach, re-installing fencing, and repainting parking space lines. Grout Thomas said those will be done before the start of the summer.

    Beach Rights Restored

    Following Truro’s and Eastham’s leads, the Wellfleet Select Board voted on March 22 to waive beach parking fees for Native American tribe members.

    The vote came at the request of Helen McNeil-Ashton, a vice president of the Truro Historical Society. McNeil-Ashton spearheaded the change in Wellfleet three weeks after doing the same in Truro.

    Eastham extended the same rights to Mashpee Wampanoag tribe members in 2020. The Wellfleet and Truro declaration restores the rights to members of all Native Americans with a tribal identification card.

    “Within the same family, there can be members who represent more than one native nation,” said Sheryl Jaffe, museum coordinator of the Wellfleet Historical Society.

    “Thank you,” said McNeil-Ashton, noting that this means there’s a run from Eastham through Truro “where Native people can recreate and use the beaches as they did for thousands of years. This is fabulous.” —Michaela Chesin

    CURRENTS: THIS WEEK IN EASTHAM

    Limited Parking at Nauset Light Beach

    Meetings Ahead

    By

    Meetings are held remotely. Go to eastham-ma.gov/calendar-by-event-type/16 and click on the meeting you are interested in to read its agenda and find information on how to view and take part remotely.

    Thursday, May 20

    • Affordable Housing Trust, 11 a.m.
    • Cape Cod Commission workshop, 3 p.m.

    Monday, May 24

    • Visitors’ Tourism and Promotion Services Board, 3:30 p.m.

    Tuesday, May 25

    • Zoning Bylaw Task Force, 4:30 p.m.
    • Conservation Commission, 6 p.m.

    Thursday, May 27

    • Board of Health, 3 p.m.
    • Joint School Committees, 7 p.m.

    Conversation Starters

    Limited Beach Parking

    Construction on the new bathhouse complex at Cape Cod National Seashore’s (CCNS) Nauset Light Beach is expected to continue through much of the summer, with parking limited to about one-third of normal capacity.

    “We’re going to encourage people to go up to Marconi,” said CCNS Supt. Brian Carlstrom. “There’s always room up here.”

    The $2.1-million project includes new restrooms, a bathhouse (with changing room area), facilities for the lifeguards and their equipment, a deck area, improvements to the parking area, rinsing stations, and a new septic system. The new facility is located at the west side of the parking area, as far away as possible from the eroding cliff. The old bathhouse was intentionally demolished in 2017 due to erosion.

    Carlstrom said steady progress on the project has continued and he was hopeful the new complex would open sometime this summer.

    “We don’t have a hard date on that yet as, through the pandemic, the construction industry has really been taxed,” he said. “It’s been a bit of a surprise for everybody. A lot of materials, supplies, and labor for the project have proven to be much more challenging than they have in the past.”

    Salty Farmers

    The select board agreed at its May 17 meeting to reduce the length of time the Salty Farmers LLC adult-use marijuana retail shop on Brackett Road would be required to pre-schedule customer appointments from six months to six weeks from the scheduled opening date.

    “Given that so many retail locations have already opened, the main concern at the time that we had passed that was crowds,” said chair Jamie Demetri. “Seeing as that’s not as much of an issue now that we have so many retail locations, it seems like a pretty viable request.”

    The board also agreed to let the shop provide curbside pickup as allowed under state law.

    Salty Farmers owner Harlen Howard noted that, while the state was lifting Covid restrictions, not everyone would be comfortable with “just jumping back into everything. I think curbside is going to be here for a while,” said Howard.

    Howard said on Tuesday the shop was tentatively planning to open on July 1. —Linda Culhane

    currents

    This Week in Eastham

    By

    Meetings Ahead

    Meetings are held remotely. Go to eastham-ma.gov/calendar-by-event-type/16 and click on a particular meeting to read its agenda.  That document will provide information about how to view and take part remotely.

    Tuesday, Sept. 8

    • Conservation Commission, 6 p.m.

    Wednesday, Sept. 9

    • Finance Committee, 5 p.m.

    Thursday, Sept. 10

    • Pre-Town Meeting, 6 p.m.
    • Nauset Regional School Committee, 6 p.m.

    Conversation Starters

    HAWK Signal Problems

    Pedestrians and cyclists are finding they can’t rely on Eastham’s new HAWK (high intensity activated crosswalk) beacon to stop traffic at the intersection of Route 6 and Governor Prence Road.

    The new crossing signal for pedestrians and cyclists on Route 6 at Governor Prence Road has brought complaints that some drivers don’t stop. (Photo Linda Culhane)

    “They don’t stop,” warned a cyclist as she waited at the intersection on Monday this week.

    Police Chief Adam Bohannon said, while his department has received reports of close calls at the HAWK signal, there have not been any accidents. “We have had several complaints about vehicles not being able to identify the red light in time,” he said.

    Select board vice chair Aimee Eckman tested the beacon herself after seeing reports of the danger on social media. During one of four crossings, Eckman said, she had to signal to a driver to stop.

    “I pointed up at the red light and they slammed on their brakes and stopped just past it,” she said.

    Eckman said there is a timing issue with the device, as the walk indicator for pedestrians and the red light for vehicles change simultaneously.

    Another problem, said Eckman, is the lack of signage to warn highway traffic, which approaches the crossing from around curves. “People don’t see it until they’re right on top of it,” she said.

    While drivers may be familiar with Route 6, the new crossing signal is not well advertised.

    “I was pretty shocked when they put it up,” said Eckman. “They didn’t put any signs up saying new traffic signal ahead.”

    The beacon is under the purview of the Mass. Dept. of Transportation (DOT), whose representatives were in town last Wednesday for what was supposed to be a final inspection of the beacon before turning control of it over to the town.

    Eckman said she was happy with the department’s response to the town’s concerns and noted they sent a large contingent on Wednesday, including one DOT employee who was nearly hit when he tried out the crossing beacon.

    “He was part way across the first lane and someone in the middle lane just blew through at full speed,” said Eckman.

    Chief Bohannon, who attended the site visit, said the town would be submitting its suggestions for improvements to the DOT.

    Bohannon and Eckman had the same advice for pedestrians and cyclists, cautioning them to wait until traffic has come to a complete stop before crossing.

    “Don’t take that little walk signal for granted,” said Eckman.

    Visitors Pay, Dogs Stay

    Eastham’s select board agreed to extend the town’s beach season for an additional week to run through Sept. 14, and to include the weekends of Sept. 19-20 and Sept. 26-27.

    “We could get a fair amount of people,” said vice chair Aimee Eckman. “Their kids aren’t necessarily going back to school. They could log into their schools from here if they want to stay. We may have more people around for longer than usual.”

    Town Administrator Jacqui Beebe said she was initially reluctant to extend the season but decided to support the extension.

    “We might as well get the money if we’re going to get the influx of day parkers,” said Beebe. “If every other town is doing it and we’re not, we’re going to get double what we would normally get and I don’t think that’s a good plan.”

    First Encounter and Cooks Brook beaches are the only town beaches that offer $25 daily parking. Beachgoers can pay at the gate. Restroom facilities at those locations will remain open until Sept. 14 and be open on the two additional weekends. Porta-potties at other beaches will remain for one extra week until Sept 14.

    Recreation and Beach Director Christine Mickle recommended the extended beach season in response to neighboring towns extending their seasons.

    “If we do not staff the beaches, we foresee an increased use of our beaches as they will be one of the only free beaches during that time,” wrote Mickle in her recommendation. “This increased use could result in trash/overflow and other miscellaneous issues.”

    “My knee-jerk to this was that it was a greedy money grab,” said board member Jared Collins. “And then I read everything that was in there and totally agree that if the surrounding towns are doing this and we don’t we’re going to have an influx and we’re going to have a big mess to clean up.”

    The extended beach season for people will not impact the start of the dog beach season, as the four-legged sand sniffers will be allowed on beaches starting the day after Labor Day.

    Town Meeting Quorum Reduced

    Just 100 voters will constitute a quorum for the Sept. 26 annual town meeting. The select board voted to reduce the requirement, as allowed under temporary legislation passed earlier this summer in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

    The bill would have allowed the board to reduce the quorum to just 10 percent of the existing level, which for Eastham was 219.

    “We could go down around 20-some, which is ridiculous,” said vice chair Aimee Eckman. “I can’t imagine we’d get that few, but I don’t even want to set the bar that low.”

    Chair Jamie Rivers expected the 100 number would be easily achieved. “I think we’re still going to exceed it,” she said.

    Eckman noted there would already be about 50 voters in attendance, between the boards, committees, and meeting workers.

    “I think we’re going to be OK. I think a lot of people are really passionate about a lot of this stuff,” said board member Jared Collins. “And I think that hopefully people will see we’re doing all we can to make this as safe as humanly possible. I applaud everyone involved for that.”

    Town meeting, scheduled for 10 a.m. on Sept. 26, will be held outdoors on the football field at Nauset Regional High School. —Linda Culhane

    SANS BEACHES

    Lecount Hollow Parking Restricted to Taxpayers

    Residents would ‘prefer their own beach,’ says Grout Thomas

    By

    WELLFLEET — For those who don’t own property here, the chances of finding a parking spot at an oceanside beach have just gotten smaller.

    The select board voted unanimously on June 16 to designate Lecount Hollow Beach as residents-only until Labor Day by restricting access to parking.

    Between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., when the town monitors the lot, only those with resident stickers will be allowed in.

    Only full-time and part-time resident taxpayers can apply for resident stickers.

    “If we are really busy and we have access issues, I think with Covid-19 and the sort of stress that local residents and taxpayers are under, we owe them the access to that resource,” board member Michael DeVasto said.

    DeVasto originally proposed the idea of a residents-only beach to the select board a week before the vote, on June 9.

    When he brought up the issue again on June 16, chair Janet Reinhart said, “This is the first time we have actually gotten letters all in support of something rather than people being mad.”

    Wellfleet Beach Administrator Suzanne Grout Thomas gave some advice to the board about how to handle a residents-only parking lot.

    DeVasto had first suggested that the restriction be limited to certain hours. But Grout Thomas recommended keeping the residents-only restriction in force all day. That way, she said, it would prevent confrontations between parking monitors and nonresidents who might show up 10 minutes early and demand to be let in.

    Grout Thomas’s main concern, though, was whether Lecount Hollow Beach would be able to accommodate all of the residents who, she thought, would flock there instead of spreading out across the four town-managed ocean beaches.

    During the June 16 meeting, Grout Thomas also pointed out why Lecount Hollow is the ideal beach to reserve for residents, saying, “Residents prefer Lecount’s because there is a nice break there.”

    Donna McCaffery, owner of the Even’tide Resort Motel & Cottages in Wellfleet, commented, “So it really isn’t about safety then, it’s just that residents want their own beach?”

    Grout Thomas responded, “They would prefer their own beach without competing with people who are visiting here for a parking space.”

    Even with the parking lot at Lecount’s restricted to taxpayers, residents are still not guaranteed isolation from outsiders.

    Board of health member Janet Drohan pointed out that a taxpayer could have out-of-town friends and family as guests, and as long as they use a car with a resident sticker they would have free access to Lecount Hollow.

    Another health concern is that nonresident taxpayers often travel on and off Cape every week. They would thus be potentially as likely to spread the coronavirus as a day-tripper would.

    A home owner on Ocean View Drive, who would not give his name, expects a surge in his business of allowing cars to park in his driveway, thanks to the scarcity of parking spaces for visitors.

    “I just try to help out, because all these people would not go to the beach without parking,” he said.

    He has about 14 spots, he said, and charges $40 for the day.

    “It’s particularly useful now because they shut down White Crest [to visitors],” he said. “That’s where most of the people went.”

    Earlier this year, the select board agreed to stop selling day passes at White Crest Beach, in another move to limit the number of people able to enjoy the town’s public beaches.

    The Ocean View Drive parking entrepreneur added that he thought the closure of Lecount Hollow to visitors was “terrible.”

    Grout Thomas later told the Independent that, at the end of the summer, she will review how the residents-only beach played out and decide if the town should make the designation permanent.

     

    currents

    This Week in Wellfleet

    By

    Meetings Ahead

    All meetings are held online. Go to wellfleet-ma.gov and click on the individual meetings for instructions.

    Thursday, May 21

    • Dredging Task Force, 11 a.m.
    • Local Housing Partnership, 4 p.m.

    Tuesday, May 26

    • Select Board and Emergency Management Team, 10 a.m.
    • Select Board, 7 p.m.

    Conversation Starters

    Covid-19 Update

    As of May 18, Wellfleet had two active cases of coronavirus, four cleared cases, and one death.

    Four-Step Enforcement Plan

    Health Dept. Director Hillary Greenberg-Lemos is putting the responsibility of social distancing and mask-wearing on the public, but she has a plan if violations arise. When the department receives the first complaint about a person not complying with Covid-19 guidelines, it will send someone to the location of the complaint and issue a verbal warning. Greenberg-Lemos admitted that “for general members of the public this is tricky, but for businesses, it’s really doable.”

    For the second infringement, the department will issue a written warning. For the third, the violator will receive a $100 fine, and for the fourth infraction, the violator will receive a cease and desist order. Complaints should be emailed to [email protected].

    Transfer Station Takes More

    As of May 18, the transfer station is accepting construction and demolition debris, leaves and brush, metal, furniture, marine debris, propane tanks, refrigerators, air-conditioners, dehumidifiers, and reusable compost. The station is not requiring purple pay-as-you-throw bags until further notice.

    Beach Limits Set

    Wellfleet beach parking lots will be restricted to 75 percent of capacity for the foreseeable future. Beach Director Suzanne Grout Thomas wants to keep beach density down until she can get a sense of how much the beaches can handle, all the while observing the 12-foot separation on the beach imposed by Gov. Baker. —Devin Sean Martin

     

    currents

    This Week in Wellfleet

    By

    Meetings Ahead

    Thursday, Feb. 13

    • Local Comprehensive Planning Committee, 8:30 a.m., Council on Aging
    • Nauset Regional School Committee, 6 p.m., Brewster Town Hall
    • Zoning Board of Appeals, 7 p.m., Council on Aging

    Monday, Feb. 17

    • Town offices closed for President’s Day

    Wednesday, Feb 19

    • Conservation Commission, 4 p.m., Town Hall

    Conversation Starters

    Pot Shop at South Wellfleet

    On Thursday, Feb. 13 at 7 p.m. the zoning board of appeals will consider an application from Cape Cod Cannabis Wellfleet to open a recreational marijuana shop at 1446 State Highway, the former South Wellfleet General Store. The business owner is applying for a special permit for a development of significant impact. One year ago, David Pike of Coral Gables, Fla., and his attorney, John Kenney, of Centerville, introduced themselves to the select board.

    At the time, Pike said he was a private-equity investor who had started several companies. He told the select board he was prepared to handle traffic and safety concerns. And when questioned by Kathleen Bacon on the vibe of the shop, he said, “I’m going to create something that is clean and neat. It’s not going to look like a head shop.”

    Parking Plans Afoot

    In the last two decades Wellfleet’s four oceanside beaches have lost an estimated 150 parking spaces to erosion. In a town that is prized for its beach bounty, this means less parking revenue and more unhappy visitors and locals.

    So the Parking Task Force II (the first parking task force disbanded years ago), established in 2018, conducted surveys and looked at the data to see if more parking is possible. The results of the study, presented at the Wellfleet Community Forum on Feb. 6, were that there is not much to do on the ocean side, with one exception. The committee recommended creation of an “app” for online status reporting that could alert beachgoers to which parking lots are full, said Dennis O’Connell, a task force member.

    The committee conducted surveys to gauge possible solutions to beach parking shortages. Of the survey respondents only 16 percent said they would use a free shuttle to get to their favorite ocean beach and only 10 percent would do so for a small fee. The committee found satellite parking and shuttles would not work on Main Street either because there is no place to put the cars.

    Expansion of the parking lot at White Crest Beach was ruled out because the road itself is already seen as threatened.

    Ocean View Drive is only 65 feet away from the edge of the dune in places, O’Connell said.

    Erosion of the ocean shoreline has been taking 2.6 to 5.7 feet of land away every year between 1995 to 2018, the study found.

    At the harbor, the parking task force concluded that the grassy area of Mayo Beach could be used for expanded parking. They advised hiring a consultant to see if more parking spaces could be configured at the harbor parking area itself. That lot has 301 spaces now.

    Also, the committee recommended moving the beach permit office from the marina area to free up as many as 30 spaces.

    To make comments, email the task force at [email protected]. —K.C. Myers

     

     

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