Coveted Crane Beach parking spots might be easier to book this summer.
The Trustees of Reservations, which owns the public beach, officially phased out its permit parking program on May 1 and is now selling day passes for parking and admissions.
Katie Theoharides, the president and CEO of the Trustees, said that under the old system, parking spots stayed empty even if permit holders didn’t show up.
“So this should provide much more equitable access to the beach for members and for non-members,” Theoharides told Boston Public Radio on Tuesday.
All-day passes must be booked in advance online. The starting rate for a vehicle is $35 on weekdays and $40 on weekends for non-members. Reduced-rate day passes are available to those with Trustees memberships, which cost $60 a year for individuals or $80 for families.
But it’s not just limited parking that impacts beach access — climate change is causing storm surge and erosion, shrinking the state’s 120 miles of publicly accessible shoreline.
In Massachusetts, private property lines extend to the low tide mark. With erosion, the area where people can traverse a beach between water marks becomes limited.
“We’re seeing this conflict come to a head more as the beach is shrinking and there’s less of that area for people to go through,” said Theoharides.
Theoharides said The Trustees is seeing significant erosion on all of their beaches, especially at the Long Point refuge on Martha’s Vineyard. Barrier beaches on the ocean are dynamic habitats, at the whim of waves, currents and wind.
“They’re always going to change shape,” said Theoharides. “But we’re seeing these storm surges now and erosion rates that are much faster.”
It’ll take more than dumping sand back on the beach to boost coastal resilience to storms and sea level rise, Theoharides said. Instead, she recommended restoring natural defenses like sand dunes, planting dune grass and creating oyster reefs to prevent storm surge.
