Protect Mayflower Beach
It seems as if everyone is heading to the bayside beaches this summer. Adam Sandler is filming a new movie there. Mayflower Beach is now rated #6 in the ‘Top beaches in this country’ in Parents magazine. A spectacular summer bringing beautiful beach weather entices beachgoers to get to these bayside beaches. However, many residents who surround Mayflower Beach and the other bayside beaches are very concerned about some important issues surrounding all this notoriety.
First of all, the safety of our roads is of utmost concern. There are thousands of cars racing to get to Mayflower Beach each morning as residents try to walk, run or ride their bikes on Beach Street. The drivers are traveling at excessive speeds beginning as early as 7:00 am. With due diligence, the Dennis Police has placed its speed trap to try and slow down the travelers. One morning last summer, as I ran with my yellow lab Dennis, we crossed half way down Beach Street. As we made it to the other side of the road, a car sped past me just as another yellow lab broke away from his owner to see my dog. The dog was instantly killed as the owner of the car swerved to miss my dog and I, instead hitting Charlie, a beautiful yellow lab. The driver was traveling at excessive speeds and unable to stop. That was the last straw for me. I no longer allow my three boys to ride their bikes or walk on Beach Street which they have done for years and my husband’s family has done for decades. Instead, Beach Street is either a road with racing cars or filled with a never ending line of cars causing a traffic nightmare for the local residents. One neighbor told me he went for coffee at 8:00 am up the street. It took him 45 minutes to get home.
The most concerning safety issue occurred the other day when emergency vehicles were unable to reach a woman in crisis. Apparently a woman passed out on the beach off of Horsefoot Path and 911 was called. However, the emergency vehicles had a difficult time getting to her as cars were scattered everywhere all over Horsefoot Path. Enough is enough! This traffic nightmare is a recipe for a disaster.
Crowds: Record crowds are pouring onto the bayside beaches each day. These beaches used to be known as family beaches where you would see the same familiar faces each year. Now, the beaches are drop-off beaches with shuttle buses and taxis from other parts of the Cape being allowed to drop off beachgoers on resident only beaches and private roads. This weekend, a family on Horsefoot Path counted 448 cars passing their house within two hours. Horsefoot Path is a small narrow street not equipped to hold this kind of traffic. When Mayflower Beach’s parking lot is full, we have all noticed cars turning around on Horsefoot Path to drop off hoards of passengers. This is a private road leading to a private beach. Who is policing these crowds and who is respecting the private beaches?
As the beaches have gained notoriety, the town has not allocated enough lifeguards to safely watch and monitor the thousands of beachgoers that are present on the beach. We have the best lifeguard staff on our beaches but clearly it is not possible for these four excellent guards and their team to keep eyes safely on all of these thousands of people. Harry Allen and his team should be praised for the fabulous job they do trying to monitor these crowds. However, in light of these excessive crowds, they seem understaffed.
Drinking: It is illegal to drink on public beaches. However, this summer we have been exposed to people arriving with cases of beer to Mayflower Beach each hot day. In addition, a July 4th crowd brought in several kegs of beer to Mayflower Beach. At the end of the day, the police were brought in control a situation, which had become chaotic. We continue to see people arriving with cases of beer, many of them underage. So now underage drinking and violence is hitting our family beach. Our once pristine sandy Mayflower Beach is now littered with beer cans, vodka bottles and trash each morning.
Sanitary issues: How can four bathroom stalls be adequate for all the thousands of people flocking to Mayflower Beach? We see people heading to the sand dunes and the water to urinate, and defecate. I would love to know the bacteria count of the ocean on a hot weekend afternoon with all those thousands of people. Is this being monitored?
New Beach Parking lot proposal: The word is out that the Town of Dennis is proposing to put in another public parking lot on Horsefoot Path to give access to an already overpopulated Mayflower Beach. In the weekly Register that came out this morning, “it was confirmed while Dennis selectmen have made no public announcement of this plan, they have confirmed that they are discussing a purchase in executive session, which binds them to confidentiality until they bring the proposal to their August 9th meeting”. How can this be possible? Our bayside beaches can not possibly handle any more beachgoers. This proposal will only add more chaos to a traffic nightmare that already exists.
Please get involved and help preserve our beautiful Mayflower Beach and surrounding bayside beaches. Please voice your opinions on the excessive crowds, illegal drinking, safety issues and sanitary issues. Most importantly, please voice your rejection to the proposed public beach parking lot on Horsefoot Path. Talk of another parking lot in an already congested area will only lead to more chaos and will have an environmental impact on these beautiful beaches.
Concerned Residents
