Less than one week after The Gazette published a story about Bradley
Beach warning swimmers with diarrhea not to go swimming ("Sign Warns
Bathers Not To Go When They Go in the Water," June 10, 2017), Quinnipiac
University Poll released the results of a survey in which more than
four-fifths of respondents thought bathrooms at the beach should be the
law.
Although several local seaside towns, including Ocean Grove and Belmar, already have restrooms on their boardwalks, 87 percent of the people in the Quinnipiac survey said the state should require seashore towns to provide restrooms at their beaches.
The same study showed that 72 percent think New Jersey, long known as the "Garden State," is a "very good" or "fairly good" place to take a vacation.
Yet there is an issue with beach access. Nearly half of respondents--47 percent--said seaside towns put too many restrictions on access to their beaches. While 41 percent said that restricted beach access is a "very serious" or "somewhat serious" problem, 50 percent called restricted beach access "not too serious" or "not a problem."
"It's a seashore state," said Maurice Carroll, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll. "Half of New Jerseyans like the ocean beaches, and another tenth or so like the boardwalks. But the weed in the Garden State is the way some seashore towns fence off their beaches. There are too many restrictions on getting to the beach, almost half of the state's voters [in the poll] say. Is access a problem? A lot of voters say it is."
In the 1990s, the state public advocate sued several beach towns for restricting public access through high daily badge fees. The matter is discussed in a 2006 study from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's Coastal Managements Office, "Public Access in New Jersey: the Public Trust Doctrine and Practical Steps to Enhance Public Access," written by Robert Freudenberg. (Go to the NJDEP's "Public Access" page and click on http://www.nj.gov/dep/cmp/access/njparightslegal.htm)
Daily fees on local beaches in 2017 range from $5 on weekdays in Asbury Park to $10 in Spring Lake. The daily beach fee in Belmar and Ocean Grove is $8, $8.50 in Bradley Beach, and $9 in Avon and Manasquan. The weekend beach fee in Asbury Park is $7.
UPDATE: This replaces an earlier file, which was flawed. The edited version failed to upload. We're looking into the problem. Thanks for your patience!
Although several local seaside towns, including Ocean Grove and Belmar, already have restrooms on their boardwalks, 87 percent of the people in the Quinnipiac survey said the state should require seashore towns to provide restrooms at their beaches.
The same study showed that 72 percent think New Jersey, long known as the "Garden State," is a "very good" or "fairly good" place to take a vacation.
Yet there is an issue with beach access. Nearly half of respondents--47 percent--said seaside towns put too many restrictions on access to their beaches. While 41 percent said that restricted beach access is a "very serious" or "somewhat serious" problem, 50 percent called restricted beach access "not too serious" or "not a problem."
"It's a seashore state," said Maurice Carroll, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll. "Half of New Jerseyans like the ocean beaches, and another tenth or so like the boardwalks. But the weed in the Garden State is the way some seashore towns fence off their beaches. There are too many restrictions on getting to the beach, almost half of the state's voters [in the poll] say. Is access a problem? A lot of voters say it is."
In the 1990s, the state public advocate sued several beach towns for restricting public access through high daily badge fees. The matter is discussed in a 2006 study from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's Coastal Managements Office, "Public Access in New Jersey: the Public Trust Doctrine and Practical Steps to Enhance Public Access," written by Robert Freudenberg. (Go to the NJDEP's "Public Access" page and click on http://www.nj.gov/dep/cmp/access/njparightslegal.htm)
Daily fees on local beaches in 2017 range from $5 on weekdays in Asbury Park to $10 in Spring Lake. The daily beach fee in Belmar and Ocean Grove is $8, $8.50 in Bradley Beach, and $9 in Avon and Manasquan. The weekend beach fee in Asbury Park is $7.
UPDATE: This replaces an earlier file, which was flawed. The edited version failed to upload. We're looking into the problem. Thanks for your patience!
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