Madison’s Top Cop Worried About Hammonasset Traffic This Summer

MADISON, CT - The fact that Madison is home to the state’s biggest shoreline beach - Hammonasset State Park - means it is a big draw to residents who live outside the state of Connecticut. The fact that this year, for the first time, out of state residents will be charged for parking while in state residents won’t has Madison officials nervous.

The General Assembly recently approved the Passport to Parks program, a new system that supports services at the state parks system while allowing Connecticut residents who have valid state license plates to access all state parks for free, effective immediately.

Created by the bipartisan state budget that was adopted late last year, Passport to Parks is supported through a $10 fee that is being applied through the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to non-commercial vehicles that have new registrations, renewals, and plate transfers registered. These include passenger cars and vehicles with combination plates, as well as motorcycles, campers/motor homes, and vehicles with antique car plates.

Funds generated through this system will provide the Connecticut State Park system – a division of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) – with greater financial support, allowing a number of services at the parks that had been previously reduced to be restored, such as the reopening of several closed campgrounds, increased staffing of state beaches during the summer, and the restoration of regular hours of operation at certain nature centers and museums.

Out-of-state vehicles will still be charged parking fees ranging from $7 to $22 depending on the park and time of day. Fees to reserve overnight campgrounds for both in-state and out-of-state visitors will still apply.

The fact that there are only two lanes that lead into the busy state park has Police Chief Jack Drumm worried about traffic flow. He expressed some of those concerns at a recent meeting of the Board of Police Commissioners.

Drumm said he has been talking with state officials about traffic control, and he said he’s been told the plan is to try and have one lane used for Connecticut residents who do not have to pay to park; the other lane would be used for people who have to pay to park.

Drumm said the state has told him it will have its own officers to try and help with traffic control but he predicted it could prove to a traffic back-up problem for Madison - especially during the busy summer weekends.

Photo by Jack Kramer