Life's A Beach in Niantic

On the eve of an impending snow storm, the discussion at last night's East Lyme Board of Selectman's meeting turned to beaches. Specifically, what kind of impact might the town expect when the beach at Cini Park opens this summer and whether the town should close Hole in the Wall Beach to rebuild its side of the boardwalk.

First Selectman Paul Formica said that the bid to repair the town's side of the boardwalk—which was damaged by tropical storm Irene and then completely devastated by Superstorm Sandy—would be going out in April.

The rebuild would include a concrete base to match the Amtrak side of the boardwalk that would be strong enough to sustain a 75-year storm. The cost should be covered by insurance and the settlement of a lawsuit, Formica said. At the earliest, the repairs could begin in mid-June or July. 

Here's the kicker: the staging area for the construction would be the upper parking lot at McCook Point Park and the work would necessitate closing Hole in the Wall beach "for most, if not all, of the summer," Formica said.

Selectman Rob Wilson was the first to question the wisdom of that.

With so many events that are an integral part of Celebrate East Lyme and the swimming portion of Niantic's Half Marathon scheduled to be held at Hole-in-the-Wall, he suggested the town hold off on making the repairs.

Having lived without a boardwalk all last summer, he said, East Lyme could probably wait until the end of August to start the construction and give residents a chance to enjoy the new amenities, such as the bathrooms and showers now in place at both McCooks and Hole-in-the-Wall.

The Board of Selectmen seemed inclined to agree.  

What The New Beach Will Bring

With a new town beach the size of Rocky Neck's adjacent to the Niantic Boardwalk set to open this summer, East Lyme Parks and Recreation Director Dave Putnam admits, "I'm a little afraid."

Town leaders are bracing for a potential flood of tourists once word gets out about the town's newest beach but until Cini Park's beach actually opens, there's really no way to know what affect this might have on tourism, traffic, parking, and local businesses.

This year, East Lyme Parks & Recreation's budget includes a 17.9 percent increase to pay for new equipment and an increase in the seasonal staff that will be needed to man lifeguard stations and parking booths, and cleanup and maintain the new beach. 

The beach itself should be open by May. Bill Scheer, acting director of Public Works, said that the parking lot at Cini Park will be expanded to accommodate 129 vehicles, which is twice the size of the lot now. The expansion will be paid for, in large part, by money paid to the town by Cl&P and Amtrak for an easement to run power to the tracks. That amounts to $59,118.

The town is currently renegotiating leases with the fishing boat companies that rent space at the town dock at Cini Park, and this coming year they'll be paying more, Formica said. The town plans to construct permanent bathrooms at Cini Park but it won't know until the end of April whether it has a state grant to cover that cost. As a result, permanent bathrooms won't be in place this summer so it's port-o-lets as usual.

Even so, the town expects the new beach to attract a lot of attention. There are four places to access the beach from the Amtrak boardwalk, which should be open by the start of the season. The fact that the fishing pier will remain open gives people even more reason to come.

Prices For the Summer

Parks and Recreation has set the prices for parking and beach access for all three town beaches as follows:

• Seasonal passes: $30 for residents, ($20 for additional vehicles per); $10 for seniors; $90 for nonresidents. 
• Day passes: $5 for residents; $20 nonresidents and $15 for walk-ins (four people, nonresidents). 

This is the biggest revenue source for the Parks and Recreation Department. "We sell 200-250 passes every year, and it went up $10 last year," said Putnam. 

Even so, the price is still less than paying for one day at Rocky Neck State Park, which charges $22 per vehicle. That's another reason why East Lyme is expecting the new beach to become popular this summer. The Board of Selectmen noted that parking lot with 129 spaces still probably won't be enough to meet the demand if the beach becomes a hot spot.

Formica said he's hoping to get some form of "people mover," possibly a trolley, to ferry people from parking lots that may include the lot at Niantic Center School from downtown to the beach.