The Borough of Deal has proposed an ordinance in which parking would be restricted on several streets that provide access to beaches. You can read all about it here,
Here is a quote from the lawyer who filed a legal brief on behalf of the Jersey Shore Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation who attended the meeting:
"The meeting was a success. Approximately 125 people showed up. The Ordinance was "tabled without date" and we were given an opportunity to be heard. The Deal Mayor and Commissioner Cohen were not receptive at first, but I think they understood our frustrations by the end. They understand our strength in numbers and hopefully, will work with us in the future to find a "solution" to their "problem." Either way, we need to keep an eye on the legal notices and weekly meeting agendas."
Here is the text of a petition advocating the ordinance before it was deleted:
Ruby Antebi Deal, NJ
39 Supporters
Deal Beach Campaign 2015
Overview: Because most Deal beaches are accessible and free of charge, many people from surrounding areas are increasingly visiting them. This creates a liability for the town, as well as an expense. It also exhausts our town resources and reduces the quality of life for our town residents.
Issues At Hand:
•Exhausting Emergency Resources: It is well known that there’s a shortage of fire fighters and first-aid responders. An emergency phone call to the beach can offset our reserve responders and likely result in a delay for a town resident that may be in need of emergency care. In addition, because there is a shortage of patrolmen, many people are not only swimming at our unprotected beaches, which is illegal by our town law, and is punishable by fine, but are also drinking alcohol on them, which creates a serious threat to them, and to anyone that might be on (or along) the road thereafter.
•Exhausting Sanitary Resources: Because of the high amount of people visiting our beaches throughout the summer, our streets and beaches are increasingly being littered with trash. This includes plastic bottles, broken glass, food wrappers, and even condoms and tampons, etc., etc. Our town recently acquired a new sanitary truck, yes, but that truck is still not sufficient for the amount of trash we receive. (We need not explain this further. To see what we mean, all the reader has to do is drive down any road that offers public access to the beach.) In addition, the high amount of traffic results in vandalism: pop-culture stickers on our street signs, spray-paint on our pump-house, etc..
•Ocean Avenue Traffic: The more people visit our beaches, the more traffic there will be in the streets. This poses a danger to the children and pedestrians walking or riding bicycles nearby. Moreover, it reduces the quality of life for the residents living within these high-traffic areas. (Speaking from personal experience, we can tell you that it is not pleasant to open your house door to be stared at by a street full of unknown surfers and fishermen—many of whom are oftentimes blasting music from their cars, or changing into their water garments without discretion.)
•House Thefts: It is not only our beaches that are accessible to those living in the surrounding areas, but our homes. Those that frequent our beaches are spending more time than we think in our own backyards (literally). This freedom allows them to study the habits of our homeowners—which, once mastered, may leave them with an easy opportunity of theft.
Solutions At Hand:
•Fewer Access Points: We now have seven beach access points in our town (from north to south, Roosevelt Ave., Ocean Lane, Phillips Ave., Darlington Ave., Deal Esplanade, Hathaway Ave., and Neptune Avenue. By limiting that number to, say, two or three, we can effectively limit the amount of visitors we receive each year, and thereby reduce our town’s liabilities and expenses, while protecting our emergency and sanitary resources. This can be done through either structural impasses (as is exemplified on Marine Place) or stricter parking restrictions (as is exemplified on Clem Conover Road, which has a “no parking beyond this limit” sign nearly immediately after one turns onto the block).
•Parking Restrictions: During the hours of the night (or from dusk to dawn) we should prohibit parking without a permit. What business does one have on the beach during those hours? If residents should like to park their cars on the street, then they should be given permit hangtags; and if they should be hosting a large function, then they should be required to hire a patrolman to waive the summons of all cars that might be parked without permits.
•Possible Increased Town Revenue: At the entrance of the few access points that we do have—and those points will be determined as we unfold this campaign, though I do suggest one below—we will have a guard collecting access fees for drop-in beachgoers. This could generate revenue towards (or significantly defray the costs of) additional lifeguards, sanitary-men, and patrolmen.
•Phillips Avenue Access Point: We suggest that one access point should be located at the beach north of Phillips Avenue Beach Club. This will create an opportunity for our two town beach clubs to have a designated surfing area (as Loch Arbor and Asbury Park have exemplified) for which optional service we could charge an additional fee to our members. (We have heard that children resist joining our beach clubs because they cannot surf in our waters; and that the parents of those children tend towards other beach clubs, because they offer surf areas with lifeguards on duty.)
Disclaimer of Liability: The materials on the NJ Scuba Divers Message Board web site are provided to you free of charge, "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL NJ SCUBA DIVERS MESSAGE BOARD OR BOARDHOST.COM BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER, INCLUDING SPECIAL, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES OR DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, USE, OR DATA WHETHER BROUGHT IN CONTRACT OR TORT, ARISING OUT OF OR CONNECTED WITH ANY NJ SCUBA DIVERS MESSAGE BOARD POST OR BOARDHOST.COM WEB SITE OR THE USE, RELIANCE UPON OR PERFORMANCE OF ANY MATERIAL CONTAINED IN OR ACCESSED FROM ANY NJ SCUBA DIVERS MESSAGE BOARD POST OR BOARDHOST.COM WEB SITE.
Link Disclaimer: We provide links to web sites operated by other parties. The links are provided for your convenience only. The presence of a link does not imply any endorsement of the material on the web sites or any association with the web site's operators. We do not operate, control or endorse any information, products or services provided by third parties through the Internet. We are not responsible for the content and performance of these sites. Use of linked sites is strictly at your own risk including any risks associated with destructive viruses.
If you like this website, and would like to give something in return, you can make a donation Your donation will be used to pay for domain & maintenance costs ONLY! Click the PayPal Donate button below....THANK YOU!