Californias 1,100 miles of coastal beaches, many with soft sand and great waves and fun piers, are among the states greatest assets, destinations for locals and visitors alike.

But new research shows that, for many Californians, the beach is out of reach.

While the beach itself is intended to be free or inexpensive, ancillary expenses and social barriers often make it tough for low-income residents to enjoy a day on the sand.

Last week, legislation was introduced in Sacramento aimed at fixing that problem. If passed, Assembly Bill 250 would direct the state Coastal Conservancy to develop new low-cost accommodations and improve existing affordable accommodations, with the goal of making a trip to the beach more accessible for families that dont have a lot of money and might have to travel far.

Its heartbreaking to see lower-income families and middle-class families who never have seen the beach or enjoyed waking up to the sounds of tides and the salt in the air, said Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, D-San Diego, who introduced the legislation.

Its heartbreaking for me because its such a part of the California experience.

The bill comes days after researchers at UCLA released a study that details how travel costs and lack of affordable accommodations prevent low-income families from going to the beach.

The average cost of a one-day visit to the beach was $22, not including parking or food, according to the study. Staying in beach towns costs an average $605 for a four-day stay, and three-quarters of the 1,100 people polled said the cost of an overnight stay was unaffordable.

In addition to showing why people dont go to the beach, the study conducted last summer at beaches from Ventura to south Orange County also found who goes to different beaches, with questions focused on family income and demographics.

The least racially diverse of the 11 beaches studied were the Doheny and Strands beaches in Dana Point, where nearly 80 percent of the visitors were white. Less than 1 percent of the visitors at Doheny were African-American.

Those beaches also drew the wealthiest visitors, with 82 percent reporting household income of $50,000 or more.

Conversely, the majority of visitors to Dockweiler State Beach in the South Bay were nonwhite, including 63 percent Latino and 16 percent black. Nearly half of the visitors reported household income of less than $50,000.

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At Redondo Beach, 47 percent of visitors were white and 40 percent Latino. More than one-third of those visiting Redondo Beach earn $50,000 or less.

Redondo Beach Councilman Bill Brand wasnt surprised by the findings.

Redondo Beach has always been a friendlier, more affordable waterfront destination than most other beach cities like Santa Monica or Manhattan Beach, he said in an email.

Brand, who entered politics as an activist fighting overdevelopment on the coast, believes a $400 million waterfront overhaul at the center of the citys upcoming election will change that.

Unfortunately, the recently approved CenterCal project is going to drive the new demographic to a whiter, wealthier class, Brand said. The challenge is to properly revitalize our waterfront without eliminating as a destination for all Californians.

Developer CenterCal Properties argues the opposite that building the 524,000-square-foot project will improve coastal access by bringing more people to land that is largely made up of underutilized development and surface parking lots.

CenterCal says the project will have something to offer for visitors of all income levels, but opponents are skeptical.

Melanie Cohen, president of the South Bay Parkland Conservancy, which advocates for the preservation and acquisition of open space, called the survey results right on.

Im really proud that the South Bay allows people to have that kind of access, Im just afraid now that as time goes on, its getting tougher and tougher, she said.

If the beachgoers look different at different beaches, researchers say a variety of issues are at play, including cost, self-segregation and amenities like fire rings or RV spaces, which the report said attract different groups of people.

We believe its a combination of factors, said Jon Christensen, a researcher at the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability at UCLA, who co-authored the study.

There are historically patterns of visitation and discrimination ... where people feel theyre welcome (at some beaches) and where they might not feel as welcome (at others), Christensen said.

The research found that among key demographic groups, blacks generally were less likely to visit a beach, with about one-third of those polled saying they get to the sand less than once a year.

Christensen said a legacy of discrimination that prevented African-Americans from using public pools and beaches continues to play a role.

This is a very real issue and a real concern, he said.

The survey did not include beaches on the isolated Palos Verdes Peninsula, where residents and elected officials have been accused of NIMBYism for the ways theyve responded to a flood of new visitors drawn by social media.

Palos Verdes Estates is embroiled in a high-profile civil rights lawsuit alleging officials have enabled the bullying tactics of territorial surfers who have kept out nonlocals and effectively privatized Lunada Bay.

The city, which denies the allegations, is pushing back against pressure from the Coastal Commission to make the area more welcoming with public amenities.

Surfers recently gathered there on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in a protest against localism.

Susan Brooks, a councilwoman in neighboring Rancho Palos Verdes, doesnt believe the Peninsulas affluence has any effect on who is able to enjoy the beach.

Were a blufftop community, the terrain is more difficult, Brooks said. You cant just go down to these places and walk down like you can in Torrance.

Access to the 1,400 acres that make up the Palos Verdes Nature Preserve is free, she noted, as is parking at the Palos Verdes Interpretive Center and near the hiking trails and beach below Trump National Golf Club.

But aside from an Americas Best Value Inn on the edge of town bordering San Pedro, the only hotel in the city is the exclusive Terranea Resort. Rancho Palos Verdes banned short-term rentals last year.

The fact is were not a hotel community, Brooks said. This was considered at the end of the earth at one time and now its the playground of Greater Los Angeles. Now were supposed to change the dynamics of the principles on which this city is founded?

In 2015, city leaders changed parking rates at Abalone Cove Shoreline Park in response to an influx of visitors, citing public safety. In recent years, a combination of record attendance and rip currents has claimed the lives of two teenagers and led to dozens of rescues.

Officials originally wanted to give Rancho Palos Verdes residents preferential parking as they did near Del Cerro Park but abandoned that idea after receiving pushback from Coastal Commission staff.

Turnbull Sanders said transportation is a problem, so the Coastal Commission is partnering with Caltrans to help get more young people to the beach. The state agency also is working to lower beach parking fees and create more beach camping and low-cost accommodations, both of which are important for people who live hours from the coast.

Though many Californians are prevented from visiting the beach, in part because of the cost, most have a relationship with the ocean. Up to 94 percent of California voters said in surveys that the health of the ocean and beaches is personally important.

People across all of these demographic categories ... want the same thing when they visit the beach. Clean water, clean sand, a place to relax and enjoy the scenery and a place for their kids to play, Christensen said. People at the beaches, though they look different, they all want the same things by and large. Thats true even across income.

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Who's visiting South Bay beaches, who isn't and why? - The Daily Breeze