Gloucester reopens limited number of public parking space to beaches for non-residents after issuing 153 tick – MassLive.com

A week after closing its beach parking lots to non-residents, Gloucester announced on Tuesday that it will reopen some spaces this weekend.

The parking lots for Stage Fort Park, Good Harbor Beach and Wingaersheek Beach will reopen for non-Gloucester residents at a reduced capacity, the city announced.

The decision to close the lots to non-residents followed complaints of of excessive traffic, illegal parking, littering and increased public safety concerns by city officials. Closing the lots also helped promote social distancing amid COVID-19 due to beach capacity concerns around the scheduled tide cycle, the city said.

On Tuesday, Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken, Police Chief Edward Conley, Director of Public Works Michael Hale and Public Health Director Karin Carroll said it was safe to reopen a portion of the parking spots beginning July 25.

This weekend we saw far less traffic, and Im thankful to everyone who helped everything go smoothly, including my staff, the City Council, Department of Public Works, the Police Department, our new Beach and Park Rangers, the Health Department, Bob Ryan and the Traffic Commission, as well as our residents, Romeo Theken said in a statement. If our beaches become overwhelmed or if capacity is reduced because of tides, we may have to limit access again in the future.

Parking lots at Good Harbor and Wingaersheek Beaches will be open to residents and a limited number of non-residents at a reduced capacity. Stage Fort Park will be open to the public and non-residents will be required to pay daily parking rates at the gate. Residents can park in the lots with either a 2019 or 2020 beach sticker or a car registration and license with a Gloucester address.

For the remainder of the summer, Gloucester officials will announce any parking restrictions for the coming weekend on the Wednesday prior.

On weekends, city officials said, the parking lots typically fill up by 9 a.m. and begin to reopen in the afternoon.

All of our public spaces are busier than ever this summer, Romeo Theken said. Our beaches are beautiful, but there are so many other things to do in our great City. We love life here in Gloucester and know you will too.

Last weekend, the Gloucester Police Department issued 153 parking violations and five cars were towed, the city said. An emergency order from the city, citing public safety concerns, deemed nearly three dozen streets as resident parking only to reduce traffic. Additional streets are being added to the list near beaches to limit non-resident street parking in neighborhoods.

Gloucester plans for increased police patrols on the beaches for the remainder of the summer.

We will be closely monitoring parking violations in the City for the remainder of the summer, and its essential that everyone continues to follow any future limitations the City may place on the public parking lots or on residential street parking near public spaces, Conley said. Thank you to everyone for your continued patience and understanding.

Those visiting beaches in Gloucester beaches must follow these guidelines: