Sound Off: Raising and Saving Beach Pass Revenue

During the budget hearings in past weeks, many Long Beach residents offered suggestions to the City Council on how the city could raise or save revenue. One issue that turned up often was beach access and passes.  

Hope Schaefer of Illinois Avenue was one of a few residents who told the council that she observes many people that simply walk right past the people who man the beach entrances and are supposed to check if beach-goers have passes or not. Schaefer said:

“On the West End we get an abundance — and I don’t know where they park or how they find us — of visitors, and frankly the people that we have collecting tickets [beach passes] are so young, that anyone can just basically walk on the beach because they’re so intimidated by these adults with their bands full of people. So we are losing revenue, at least in the West End.”

Others had recommended that people who go onto the beach and in the ocean before people are required to pay for such access starting at 9 a.m. should nevertheless pay. After that time, they argued, city workers should go on the beach and collect fees from them, and if they pay they get to stay; otherwise they have to leave.

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Another resident, Mindy Warshaw, who lives in the Canals, told the council members that she believes Long Beach residents shouldn’t have to pay to get onto the beach. Said Warshaw:

“The Rec Center is able to give us passes to the Rec Center with our pictures on it. Why do we, the residents of this community, have to pay for a beach pass, when Atlantic Beach and Lido Beach get tags? We can give them [residents] the same ID cards with pictures on them, renew them, save the cost on passes, and then issue the passes for all the outsiders and other people that you have to charge to get on our beautiful beaches, which is the draw of why many people moved to this community.”

What do you think of these suggestions? Do you have other thoughts on how the city could best raise and save beach revenue? Let us know in the comments below.