September 30, 2013 2:00 AM

Who would have thought a day at the beach could raise such angst, but even with summer over, there are many concerns about who uses the beach and how, if they have a dog with them, whether they surf, and where they park.

It's enough to ask, can't we all just get along?

There are legitimate concerns with the beaches in Rye. Public consumption of alcohol can lead to other problems, especially littering, and there seems to be a growing amount of trash left on our fine shores. That's a shame.

An ounce of prevention, as it relates to open containers, and trash, is worth a pound of prevention. With respect to the law, a discreetly consumed beer is not going to turn Rye's shores into a honky-tonk Hampton Beach of the 1970s. The problem arises when a beer becomes public intoxication. It worsens when the publicly intoxicated care not to clean up their mess. Arriving at the beach to find crushed beer cans, cigarette butts and snack food wrappers blowing over what should be pristine sands is depressing.

Let's not just blame those who imbibe. Litter seems to get worse by the year in general. It's frustrating given the greatest level of environmental awareness in the history of the world.

The occasional person who strips out of beach or surf wear to put on other clothes, revealing partial nudity, does little to enhance a family beach trip. We would assume those who swap clothes shoreside are but a few among the tens of thousands who hit the beach on beautiful summer days.

It is the tens of thousands who visit the beach that make us worry what the angst is all about. There is no easy solution to the beach's popularity as there are a lot more of us living in the region than 20 years ago.

We believe a measured approach to restricting and/or charging for parking is needed. When so many of us fight against waning access to waterfront and beaches, further restricting access is troubling. A recent meeting held by local state lawmakers in Rye included worries about the growing number of pedestrians and traffic congestion along the shore.

Among the ideas for dealing with parking and congestion was to install parking meters on Ocean Boulevard and ban parking on one side of the road. State Sen. Nancy Stiles confirmed state law would allow Rye to install parking meters along Ocean Boulevard if it so chooses.

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Beaches in Rye need attention