Pt. Pleasant Beach’s new rule — residents-only parking at beaches

Point Pleasant Beach has been trying desperately to keep visitors pit. Several attempts have been made to restrict beaches to anyone who did not own property in town.

But several state Supreme Court rulings dating from all the way back to the '50s say that can’t happen. Gov. Phil Murphy has also ruled out residents-only beach re-openings.

So here’s how they got around that: they’ve made it virtually impossible for anyone but a resident to park in Point Pleasant Beach by issuing residents a special pass to park on the streets. Called a "temporary emergency resident parking pass," This pass has to be used on streets "east of the railroad tracks." This effectively shuts the town to tourists and visitors who may want to enjoy the beaches.

One might think that residents of PPB would not mind this draconian mandate, but an enraged and wise resident contacted me to express his anger over what basically comes down to barring visitors from his town. I’m posting his email in full, because there’s no part of it that’s not logical and important.

He says: “.....these are my parking passes as we own a property in town. Please post, share and create as much publicity as possible as it's fundamentally wrong. It's ridiculous these people somehow feel they are privileged and try to keep fellow Americans out in a time of crisis. What a shameful people! These are the very people that try to get out days ahead before any storm warning. Perhaps, we should block them from getting out when there is a storm warning next time! But you know what we are better than them and we will welcome them and provide shelter if they’re in need!”

This writer also confirms that he himself follows recommendations for the COVID-19 shut down but thinks this is going too far. And I agree.

QUEST FOR A CURE: Thursday at 7 p.m., New Jersey 101.5 hosts a live discussion on NJ-driven advancements in coronavirus treatment and research that could save lives, help return NJ to work and even make progress toward a vaccine. Listen on New Jersey 101.5 FM, the NJ 101.5 app or Facebook.com/NJ1015.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Judi Franco. Any opinions expressed are Judi's own.

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