Reopenings: Monterey County Officials Limiting Access To Beaches Over Fears Of Unsafe Overcrowding
MONTEREY (CBS SF) -- Several beaches around the Monterey Bay Area will be closing this weekend to reinforce social distancing and reduce large public gatherings, as cities anticipate large influxes of visitors during the heat wave.
The city of Pacific Grove announced closed of the Lovers Point Beaches on Saturday and Sunday.
Meanwhile, the city of Monterey announced a partial beach closure for San Carlos and McAbee beaches over the weekend, allowing for essential activity only.
Ocean access will be allowed, but sunbathing, lounging and other group activities are temporarily prohibited Saturday and Sunday.
The closures are part of the city's effort to provide additional health and safety assurance during the COVID-19 shelter in place order.
With the excessive heat watch in place around neighboring counties, by the National Weather Service, the city expects an increase in beach attendees, which puts public health at risk in smaller beaches.
"We understand how important it is for the community to access our waterways and beaches, particularly during a heat wave," said City Manager Hans Uslar. "This order tries to achieve the balance by closing off our smaller beaches while allowing coastal access on larger beaches where physical distancing can be maintained."
Public beach access at Monterey Municipal Beach and Monterey State Beach's two-mile stretch of sand will remain open. Both Monterey Police
Department staff and California State Parks lifeguards will be monitoring beaches to enforce physical distancing and group gathering restrictions in place per state and county health orders.
The city also anticipates increased crowds at Fisherman's Wharf so Waterfront Parking Lot will have reduced parking spots available over the weekend.
T
