Higher parking fines, more police: State and towns announce plans to prevent overcrowding at R.I. beaches

SOUTH KINGSTOWN -- Coastal communities are teaming up with the state in a coordinated approach to limit illegal parking and crowding at the beaches as Rhode Island braces for a steamy weekend amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.

South Kingstown and Westerly have increased fines to $150 in an effort to deter illegal parking on streets near the beaches following Gov. Gina Raimondo’s decision this week to cut parking at Misquamicut and Scarborough state beaches by 75% due to overcrowding and other unsafe conditions. As a result, towns are preparing for increased traffic at other beaches, such as East Matunuck.

South Kingstown Town Manager Robert Zarnetske on Thursday issued an executive order increasing fines from $25 to $150 on the entire length of Succotash Road, which leads to East Matunuck State Beach. The order will remain in effect through Aug. 11.

Other areas targeted for increased fines are Jerusalem, the state pier, and all adjacent roadways.

In Westerly, Police Chief Shawn Lacey signed an order Friday doubling fines to $150. That order will remain in effect until the end of the summer or until the pandemic resolves, Lacey said.

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The measure is not intended as a moneymaker for the town but as a precaution to curb illegal parking, he said.

The affected roads are Larkin Road, Bay Street, Atlantic Avenue, Spray Rock Road and any other restricted parking areas under town code, the order reads.

Narragansett has designated all “no parking” zones instead as “tow away” zones effective immediately, according to a news release from the state DEM. The fines in those zones will be $75.

Parking is prohibited on the north side only of Ocean Road from Pilgrim Avenue to Rose Nulman Park.

In Charlestown, fines remain at $50, with extra patrols, Lt. Kevin Kidd said.

“We’re actively out there,” Kidd said.

The move comes as Rhode Island’s eight state beaches have experienced a 79% increase in visitors in June 2020 (340,000 visitors) over June 2019 (190,000 visitors), according to the release.

“DEM stands ready to support Governor Raimondo’s goal of fighting COVID-19 by restricting parking capacity at state beaches,” Dean Hoxsie, chief of DEM’s Division of Law Enforcement, said in a statement. “As we’ve seen on recent weekends, crowds at the beaches have been too large and tightly packed, especially at high tide. At the same time, we recognize that fighting COVID by limiting parking strains the resources of the local beach communities that are our partners.”

Under the plan, environmental police officers will be stationed at the entry booths of state beaches and will coordinate and communicate lot capacity with Rhode Island State Police troopers and local police. Lots will be closed when full.

State troopers will also be posted to prevent roadway parking once the beach lots are full.

Restricting parking by 75% means that there will be only 675 available spaces out of a total of 2,700 at Misquamicut and 611 available spots out of 2,445 in all at the combined Scarborough north and south lots, the state said.

The release cites a 2016 study conducted by the University of Rhode Island indicating that 47% visitors to Rhode Island beaches are from out of state. A total of 77% of beachgoers at Misquamicut are from Connecticut.

The DEM strongly encourages anyone thinking about heading to a state beach this weekend to check www.riparks.com for the parking capacity status of each beach lot before leaving as lots will fill up fast with little turnover on such hot days.