NJ lacks beach perk that so many locals would love to see

Chalk this under the age-old question, "Why can't we have nice things?" Or, maybe in the case of New Jersey, why can't we have both nice AND logical things?

Now before I get into what I noticed while traveling out of state, let me just say that I don't know if anywhere in New Jersey does this along the Shore. Having been someone who was born and raised in this part of the state, I certainly don't remember seeing it.

It has to do with access to public beaches. Recently, I had to make a trip out to Long Island. It had to do with a procedure my dog needed to get done that had to be performed at a facility about halfway out on the island.

As a result, my family and I decided to make a mini trip out of it and explore the region while our dog got what he needed done. But it wasn't long before my wife noticed a particular sign for one of the beaches out there.

And I'll apologize in advance, I'm sorry for not grabbing a photo of this. It was access to a public beach that was for locals only.

Yes, a locals-only public beach. Meaning if my family wanted to explore it, we wouldn't be allowed. I'm assuming if we had a relative who lived out on Long Island perhaps we could get on with them.

We eventually learned that this wasn't the only one. Apparently, more of these locals-only beaches existed. And I have to tell you, I wasn't bothered by it at all. At least, not while we were there.

What really got me thinking was this. Why can't New Jersey have separate beaches for its locals? If we do have them, then they're apparently very far and few between.

I mean, wouldn't be nice for even a small portion of a beach to be reserved strictly for locals? They live there anyway, so why not let them have it? The taxes are high enough just to live there, at least give them that.

Now I'm not talking about entire towns necessarily. Brick, for example, only has a small portion that borders the Atlantic Ocean, with a vast majority of that town never touching the actual coast.

In a situation like that, why not give the locals along the coast their own beach access? I absolutely think we should do that up and down the coast for our communities situated right along the Atlantic.

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But then again, this is New Jersey, where we can't even give locals free access to any public beach because we must collect revenue by making them purchase beach badges.

This begs the next question - Why can't locals get free access during the summer months in the first place? I mean, give the locals something.

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The above post reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 Sunday morning host & content contributor Mike Brant. Any opinions expressed are his own.