With neighboring states beginning to restrict travel from Rhode Island due to increasing coronavirus cases in the state, some Rhode Islanders are wondering whether the state can do more to curb crowding at its parks and beaches by limiting access to residents only.
But, according to the Department of Environmental Management, access to state-owned properties cannot be denied based on residency.
“State properties that receive federal funds, such as parks and beaches, are subject to the terms and conditions attached to those funds,” Department of Environmental Management spokeswoman Gail Mastrati wrote in an email.
The state can, however, charge out-of-state visitors more for daily, weekend and season passes, according to Mastrati.
For season passes, the state charges residents $30 and non-residents $60. For daily passes on weekdays, residents must pay $6 and non-residents $12, and on weekends and holidays, residents must pay $7 and non-residents $14.
In addition, the department has conducted outreach in other states to encourage people to stick to beaches that are closer to home, said Department of Environmental Management Director Janet Coit.
But even though crowding at Rhode Island’s beaches has been an issue this summer, which has broken heat records, Coit said crowds at beaches have been under control in recent weeks.
“I feel that we are in a much better place than we were a few weeks ago,” she said. “We’re getting far less calls about overcrowding. ... We’ve done a whole bunch of things that I think mean our beaches are less tightly packed, safer and in better shape than they were a few weeks ago.”
Parking capacity has been reduced to 25% at some beaches, and municipalities where beaches are located have ramped up enforcement of illegal parking to prevent people from avoiding parking limitations and accessing the beach on foot, Coit said. Access is shut off to any beach that becomes too crowded, high-traffic areas are deep cleaned regularly and masks are distributed often, she said.
The department has also made information on the status of crowds at beaches available in real time online and encouraged visitors to purchase passes on the website in order to avoid contact with staff.
Other than one employee at the Scarborough South State Beach snack bar that contracted COVID-19 in July, no beach employees have tested positive for the virus, Coit said.
With most large events canceled and so many restrictions placed on activities and group gatherings, it’s especially important to provide people with opportunities to recreate outdoors, Coit said.
“We’ve been working hard – very, very hard – since March on managing parks and beaches,” she said. ”... It’s important to Rhode Islanders and visitors that we have access to these places.”