Posted on 04/18/2002 11:44:16 AM PDT by Tumbleweed_Connection
IT'S almost unheard of at the Jersey Shore: a beach with free parking and no beach tags. But now, thanks to a decision by state officials, this summer's visitors to Cape May Point State Park will find those perks come with a major catch - no swimming.
The ban was already being flouted this week by swimmers who promised that, like the early heat wave, their defiance was just a preview of things to come.
"It's unfair," said a disgusted Joanie Kane of Lower Township, Cape May County, as she headed for the surf to keep an eye on her boogie-boarding boys, oblivious to an ocean that was still very much at an April temperature (51 degrees). "It's always been free. One by one, they're all going."
State officials say they had no choice but to institute a ban: The park, famous for its lighthouse, birding and nature trails, has seen its popularity as a beach spot soar. Annual visits increased from 250,000 a decade ago to 800,000 last year, about as many as the state's other natural beach area, Island Beach State Park in Ocean County.
Cape May Point locals - mostly older homeowners - have been complaining about traffic and other problems. Park rangers had found themselves increasingly turned into glorified parking-lot attendants, with occasional stints rescuing swimmers from strong currents.
The absence of lifeguards and the presence of debris from an abandoned military bunker at the shoreline make the beach too dangerous a swimming spot to just look the other way, park officials said. The "No swimming" signs already have been posted. Park officials said some wading probably would be tolerated. People who violate the swimming ban could receive a summons similar to a parking ticket.
"The beach was never intended for swimming purposes," said Frank Gallagher, administrator of the state Division of Parks and Forestry. "We haven't designed the support services. It was intended as a natural area, a historic site, not as an active recreational site."
The park is one of the most sublime spots along the Jersey Shore - a mecca for birders and butterfly watchers, the site of an ongoing Hawk Watch, and home to child-friendly nature trails, a historic lighthouse with a panoramic view, a museum, bathrooms, and natural sand dunes.
And a beach that, after decades of erosion, has actually widened during the last few years.
Gallagher said there could be a return to swimming at the park, but only if there were money to add the facilities and staffing that he said state health codes and regulations require. An alternative would be to expand facilities at nearby Sunset Beach, part of the Higbee Beach Wildlife Management Area.
A task force of local and state officials has endorsed the swimming ban at Cape May Point State Park. It is to gather again at 2 p.m. May 15 at the park in a meeting open to the public.
But beachgoers call the ban "elitist." They say the state has caved in to the wishes of the elderly homeowners, who wish to protect their out-of-the-way town from the summer chaos that is second nature in other Shore towns.
"It's outrage vs. isolationism," said Bill Maher, a local resident who welcomes swimmers. "If you live at the seashore, you put up with it for three months and then they go home."
Those who swim say they, too, appreciate a beach in a natural setting and are not just looking for a free day at the beach.
"We like to go to the beaches without looking at seawalls, houses and hotels - a natural beach," Maher said. "The state is going to have all these people on the beach on a July afternoon, and they're all going to jump into the water. What are they going to do? Call the state police down to start arresting people?"
Maurice Hight, a Haddonfield transplant retired to Cape May, said, "If they have to charge a fee, let them charge." Others called on the state to preserve what may be the ultimate endangered Jersey Shore species: a free beach.
"I think there should be some parts of the ocean open to the public without having to pay for it," said Pat Burton of the East Falls section of Philadelphia. "You see Amish people from Lancaster County in vans, inner-city kids. They're trying constantly to limit access because of the congestion. It doesn't give people a chance who are just passing through."
Some beachgoers laughed at the idea of the park's not having enough support facilities: With five stalls plus a handicapped stall in both the men's and women's bathrooms, the park is luxurious by New Jersey beach restroom standards. "In Wildwood, you have to sneak into the hotels," Kane said.
But residents say the quiet streets of Cape May Point are under siege.
Joseph Marlow and his wife have lived in a little cottage just up the road from the park entrance since the 1960s. "It's terrible," Marlow's wife said. "It's a speedway. Quite a few of our friends have moved down to Florida."
But Marlow said the state had only itself to blame: "They made a recreational area. They got the ocean, and now they say you can't swim. That's like putting ice cream in front of a kid and saying you can't eat it."
Nice name, dude.
And their reason for the ban, they don't have the facilites/money to regulate the beach. What a joke.
EBUCK
What the heck is a beach tag? Do you have to pay to use the beaches there anymore? What a crock. Now you have to pay to use public property so they can use the monies to regulate your usage.
Why? Because Florida has closed all of its beaches to the public? Or is it because they would rather be near a beach that is packed all year around? Or maybe because it's because Florida has no Speedways.
EBUCK
The State of New Jersey ended up in a hopeless, idiotic situation -- on one hand they had people suing them to keep all public beaches open and staffed, and on the other hand they were told that by placing staff at these beaches for part of the year they exposed themselves to civil liability even when they close a beach for good reason.
You are right. They are stuck between the morons and the rocks. Sorry to hear it.
EBUCK
It does seem, however, that they have no way of keeping people off of this
beach below the mean high tide mark.
I spent a lot of time in this area while growing up. I don't see how it could get any more crowded. That being said, they've had a lot of problems with beach erosion and have had to replace beach sand and build up the dunes (to protect the homes in the area, many of which are Victorian).
The "abandoned military bunker" mentioned in the article was a coastal artillery site during WWII (with a twin site in Lewes, Delaware), and was 100 yards from the water's edge when built. The last time I was there, about 10 years ago, the water line was about 30 feet closer past it; they had to build a wooden bridge to get across to the concrete bunker, on top of which you could walk around and look out at the ocean. I wonder if it's even open anymore at this point.
All in all, it's a pretty neat area.
Most States do no charge a fee to go swimming. We pay state and federal income taxes for beach replenishment and maintenance. That should be enough. And in some cities, like Spring Lake, we are not allowed to use the beaches at all since big mansions line the beach and one must cross their private property to access the beach--that is wrong; they should pay then for their own beach maintenance which they do not--the federal tax payers do.
In Florida, not only are most of the beaches free, they provide showers to rinse off the sand when you get out of the water, you are allowed to drink on the beach and in many towns are allowed to build fires at night. You can also see the sea turtles lay their eggs at night along the beach. And there are no hypodermic needles floating around either.
So, where exactly did you swim for free in NJ? Maybe I will go there. It seems you owe the State of NJ some money.
You have the right to remain silent.
In the event that you give up your right to remain silent ...
8')
Joseph Marlow and his wife have lived in a little cottage just up the road from the park entrance since the 1960s. "It's terrible," Marlow's wife said. "It's a speedway. Quite a few of our friends have moved down to Florida."
They were probably just trying to get away from you and your incessant bitching, grandma.
It's the BENNY's (Bayonne, Elizabeth, Newark, New York) and the Shoebies (Philly tourists).
New Jersey needs to charge to access the beaches in order to provide life guards, insurance costs, beach maintenance and cleaning, showers on the beach (at least in Point Pleasant), extra police (darn New Yorkers don't know how to behave) and other miscellaneous stuff. I don't think much of beach fees ever get to Trenton.
Having grown up in Bayonne and sitting in traffic on the GSP with my buddies in a zooped up '71 Chevy Malibu, I was the classic BENNY. Mostly we only went as far as Long Branch since the beaches there were cheaper. When I was a kid, my friend's mother was a teacher and she used to get several season badges for Belmar which even today, are not expensive from a value perspective (Ocean swimming has value to me).
As for Spring Lake and the more expensive beaches (like Point Pleasant, my typical family destination these days), you pay to keep out the riff raff. You'll find the riff raff reclining at Seaside Heights!
However, Long Beach Island is probably my most beloved Jersey shore location. Ahhhhh, to be 17 with a beat up car and my uncle's boat with the Barnegat Bay mine to explore and a bunch of Pineys to tease......
Ooops, sorry, I was reminiscing. Where was I?
Oh, yeah, so this free beach park in boring Cape May is being overrun with Shoebies. I say charge 'em! Those Philly folks aren't paying NJ taxes. Why should people in Sussex County who only get as far south as Lake Hopatcong have to pay for them to have a day at the beach? If Florida was an hour away from New York City by car, they'd be charging for beaches too!
Good observation. You cannot be ticketed for being below the mean high tide water mark. Solution: Don't come out of the water....ever!!!
I still feel that I am paying twice twice the beach with taxes and then again with beach fees. By checking licenses they can charge those from PA and NY and let us swim for free.
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