Why Beach Parking Space Changes Were Made
You asked why leased spaces are shifting, so we found out for you as part of the revamped Question of the Week.
As a part of the new Question of the Week, Patch Editor Kyle Stucker will select each week one poignant question or concern posed by a resident and dive into a special investigation of the issue. This article is the product of a question from Amy Kane about changes at North Hampton State Beach.
The state of New Hampshire has changed the location of North Hampton State Beach's 20 resident leased parking spaces as part of an effort to limit the impact caused by two bathhouse construction projects beginning in the near future.
Work will soon begin to connect the bathrooms to the Hampton sewer system and fully reconstruct the bathhouse itself, and Town Administrator Steve Fournier said that state-controlled and state-managed projects are expected to temporarily close off an undetermined number of parking spaces next to the building.
The leased spaces traditionally were placed each summer at the southern end of the parking lot adjacent to the bathhouse, although Fournier said he recently worked with the state to shift the leased spaces to the north end of the lot in order to ensure residents aren't displaced by the construction as well as ensure proper enforcement of the leased lots.
"The state called me up and said they wanted to move the spots [because of the construction]," said Fournier. "The options were to try and have them at the north end of the lot or in the middle, but having them in the middle would be a nightmare to enforce 'no parking' versus trying to segregate them at the north end.
"One thing I've heard many times with the location of the leased parking spaces and their relationship to businesses in the area is that non-residents just parked in the spots and ignored the leased signs. Hopefully this will separate the resident parking more from the public parking."
The parking lot and beach is owned by the state, and Fournier said the town only has the authority to enforce parking violations and offer the leased spaces to North Hampton residents.
Fournier said the decision to move the spaces is ultimately a state-level decision, although he appreciated having input in the construction process, which he said residents should know will have more positives than negatives in the long run.
"People need to realize that there will be major construction happening for the next two years at that beach," he said. "While it’s going to be putting people out, ultimately it’s going be better for everybody... I think people need to be patient and just need to know it’s going to be great project at the end. It's going to make some changes, but they're going to be beneficial for residents and non-residents."
Some of those changes have already taken effect, including the placement of temporary portable toilets on the north end of the parking lot, which is a "pay-and-display" lot.
Three handicap-accessible parking spaces were also placed next to the portable toilets. These spaces used to be located next to the bathhouse, although Fournier said they were moved to the other end of the lot so they aren't impact by the construction.
Fournier said the state will remove the portable toilets at some point in June after the sewer connection is made, after which the toilets within the bathhouse will be operational.
However, the bathhouse toilets will be offline again when the building reconstruction begins after the season is over. Fournier said the portable toilets will then return while the new facility is constructed.
More details about the construction timeline can be found here.
The state is currently in the process of fully opening the beach for the season, and the leased parking spaces' signs have just recently come out, said Fournier. Other tasks like bringing additional trash cans and posting appropriate will likely be completed in the upcoming weeks.
A map of the location of the leased spaces and additional information about the change will soon be posted on the homepage of the town's website.
Amy Kane
4:45 pm on Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Thanks for digging up the answers to questions about construction and parking at North Hampton Beach. It would be helpful if state parks posted a sign on the closed bathhouse with information about the changes and construction timeline too. Except for when the lifeguard is on duty certain hours from mid-June to the end of August, and when attendants come by to empty the trash cans, North Hampton Beach is a state park that is "unattended" and people don't know how to get answers to their questions.
Amy Kane
5:08 pm on Wednesday, May 2, 2012
North Hampton residents can purchase a 2012 beach sticker for $25 per car that allows parking on a first-come-first-serve basis in any one of the 20 parking spots that the town leases from the state. I believe these parking stickers have been available each summer since the town gave the beach to the state years ago. They are one way North Hampton retains a small sense of "ownership" of this prime recreation spot - the only sandy stretch of ocean beach in North Hampton. All other Seacoast towns that front the ocean have town beaches with parking just for residents. So these 20 parking spots are important to us! Their location at the south end of the beach was ideal for North Hampton residents to enjoy their favorite swimming and meeting area, just south of the bathhouse. In summer, seaweed can build heavily at the north end of the beach, attended by rotting odors and swarms of little bugs. I suspect residents won't be thrilled about the parking shift to that end of the beach - but since it is for a good cause (toilets that work! a new bathhouse!) and IF it is temporary, it should be acceptable. Unfortunately, when parking is at the otherwise-desirable south end, residents have found themselves in competition not only among themselves for the 20 spots on busy summer days, but with customers for the ice cream stand across the road.
Lori Pearce
8:49 am on Thursday, May 3, 2012
The north end of the beach is NOT ok for parking. What about our handicap and those with very young children. They cannot climb over the rocks and very large steps not to mention the most polluted water on NHState Beach is right there.. The ramp is THE most used entry to the sand for everyone.
I would like to see our town parking away from the bath house area due to the fact there are always MA plates parked in our spots to eat across the street. Our police do an amaising job down there but its a constant game to keep our spots, road etc clear.
Don't
forget the town owned this beach and gave it to the state years ago with the promise they would take good care of it and us, as we do have the right to take it back.
I'd like to see the spots more to the middle, could we do a poll on that issue?
Amy Kane
9:31 am on Thursday, May 3, 2012
The town has the right to take the beach back from the state? I personally am in favor of the Town of North Hampton owning and maintaining the beach, but from what I've heard from various officials in the last few years, the state giving it back is "not an option" and there is no legal mechanism to take it back.
I agree there is no good beach access at the far north end, just a bunch of tumbled rocks.
If a poll showed that the majority of beach sticker holders wanted parking in the middle of the lot, the state would have to be convinced to move the signs (with support from the North Hampton town administrator and North Hampton police chief, I assume).
Kyle Stucker
10:18 am on Thursday, May 3, 2012
Lori,
Town officials and police don't like the idea of having the resident parking in the middle due to the fact that it would be difficult to enforce, according to Steve Fournier. I can put up a poll if you'd like.
Lori Pearce
2:41 pm on Thursday, May 3, 2012
So now you are saying we the townspeople must move so they can take better care of the Beach Plum situation??
Debra Woodward
10:55 am on Thursday, May 3, 2012
I don't mind walking from one end to the other for now. It's the beach, for goodness sake, and I am happy to still have the 20 spaces. BUT can a new ramp be installed at that end? I have seen several elderly people fall down there and in the middle section where there are spaces between the large steps. And as for "taking the beach back" from the state, I doubt the town of North Hampton wants to pay for the new sewer--and the residents pay more taxes. But now that the spaces have moved they need to be marked VERY well or tourists and Beach Pea customers will park there. Beach Pea needs more of their own parking spaces across the street. They have become much more popular.
Amy Kane
2:48 pm on Thursday, May 3, 2012
If the state ever does install another ramp, it would be great if it were wide enough to get a tractor on the beach to rake up the seaweed once in a while in the summer. It can pile up after a storm and then rot in place (with dead marine and bird life mixed in) for days or weeks, making that end of the beach unpleasant and even unhealthy (testing positive for higher levels of bacteria under the seaweed).
Debra Woodward
4:09 pm on Thursday, May 3, 2012
Yes, and I always wondered why they couldn't somehow get it to farms and garden centers since seaweed is such a good fertilizer! Maine beaches do a great job of keeping the beaches raked.