Parking And Pricing Changes Make Visiting Rye Beach Easier For Locals, More Difficult For Others

Starting Memorial Day weekend, it will be more expensive to go to the beach -- and more difficult to park there -- for people who live outside Rye and its immediate area.

In a dramatic series of sweeping decisions that will have far-reaching impact across the community and beyond, the long-discussed differential pricing for parking and beach access for residents and non-residents will go into effect, according to a ruling by the parks commission Wednesday.

All non-residents permits will also be discontinued, and parking on the lawn during peak season will be drastically reduced, while safety precaustions will be increased.

Other decisions ranged from increased safety procedures at the park and beach area, to designating certain areas of Oakland Beach as smoking-and-non-smoking areas.

There will be substantial savings for residents, the amounts varying depending on whether they purchase permits or not. Permits will range in cost from $110 for a resident single to $130 for a resident family, entitling them to parking and beach access that will cost $4 and $1, respectively, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m..

Those were just some of the decisions that came from a quorum of the Rye Town Park Commission during a meeting at Rye Town Hall on Wednesday night.

Voting in favor of decisions that also addressed safety and parking concerns, among others, were Rye Town Supervisor Joe Carvin; Mayors Doug French and Joan Feinstein of Rye City and Rye Brook respectively; and Commissioner Benedict Salanitro. Port Chester Mayor Dennis Pilla and Commissioner Joseph Sack were absent.

The decisions favor the approximately 60,000 residents of the Rye Town area involving Port Chester, Rye Brook, Rye City, and the Rye Neck section of the Village of Mamaroneck over outsiders.

In effect, the commission was responding to community safety, environmental and ecological concerns to once again make Rye Town Park "a park, not a parking lot." Officials said between 50 and 70 percent of people who use the lawn and beach during peak summer season do not live in Rye or the immediate area.

The rulings came after more than a year of public meetings between the Rye Town Parks Commission and community activists such as Concerned Citizens for Rye Town Parks and Friends of Rye Town Parks. Those groups have met in area homes, at Rye Town Hall and other designated public meeting areas, including the recent first-ever "Community Conversation" in the park itself.

The Rye Town Park Commission acted on community input following what was called "the Greenwich model," based on a study of more than 20 beach areas favoring differential pricing in favor of area residents, with the average beach/parking access price in the $20 range. In so doing, the Rye Town Park Commission responded to the suggestions of resident taxpayers who, in essence, help underwrite the Rye Town Parks' $1 million budget.

In addressing community safety concerns, parking on the beach lawn will now be reduced to 660 from 916, making about two thirds of the park lawn car-free, according to officials. Most of the parking will be confined to the area west of the duck pond, thus addressing environmental and ecological concerns while also improving entrance and exit car access and eliminating fire hazards.

There will also be increased lawn safety barriers, roped off pedestrian walkways and signage stressing safety, with additonal beefed-up staffing in place by the start of the peak summer season. The increased security and parking staff alone will cost an estimated $25,000.