There are so many WH citizens who try to clean the beach and preserve the Piping Plovers from going extinct. WH taxpapers have allowed everyone in. Then complain. Free Parking at Jimmies and Chicks. This beach is for WH citizens and everyone else is a guest. Every week there is some marathon, bikathon, heartathon on our shoreline. I heard over 10,000 people a week come. Then they call us Waste Haven with the high taxes, much of which pays to clean up after them. Have they not heard of the suffering of the people on Beach Street from the floods who ask that this area be used less not more.

The beach may be for WH residents, but that's to use, not to abuse through trash, and I'm afraid that WH residents are just as quick to litter the beach as nonresidents. Just look at how poorly WH residents (and landlords) care -- or don't -- for their houses and properties. I don't understand the comment about the victims of flooding: how would less use of the beach impact the likelihood of flood damage? What's the connection there?

O.K. One is entitled to decide whether WH residents are as quick to litter the beach as outsiders. Still, the clean ups are done by WH. Park and Rec and WH citizens. We had serious "flood damage", specifically,Oldfield Creek, a flood plain covered in impermeable materials ie,skate park, ball field and parking lots affecting the water absorption. A great portion of P&R budget will be spent specifically renovating damages. Year after year left to itself it would not look the way it doeswithout great effort and money. There are over 10,000 people on the beach weekly. Impact, of course!!!

That's a very good point, Carol, about the hard surfaces. Yes, too many hard surfaces lead to the flooding. And they do eat up a huge amount of Public Works (not Parks & Recreation) budget. In fact, as much money as they spend on the beaches -- including the nonsensical beach grooming, the effects of which last for about, oh, maybe half a day when you get lots of people on the beach (I'm just not sure what is so aesthetically offensive about a beach dimpled from footprints) -- you'd think there was actual revenue generated from the beaches. In any case, many of the homes around Old Field Creek were built for a sea level that is a thing of the past, with further increases in sea level pretty much inevitable.

Dear Concerned. Sorry,public works budget, not Park and Rec. Are you one of my environmental friends? You are not WH's Dr. Bob, are you? So happy you are so concerned. Have you heard of the new study which is coming up on flooding. If the plan is followed everything in that whole area will be drastically changed. Imagine no more sand, thus no more combing the sand, structures removed, no more building. Only dunes, rocks, etc. I can hear the SCREAMING now but Mother Nature wins.

How about you where able to bring it there is take it home that's a good fix

How do WH folks feel about the onslaught of people on our beach. The free parking...CHICKS,SKATE PARK, BALL FIELD, JIMMIES. Out streets closest to the beach are packed with cars now because outsiders don't want to pay. Is there any other community that allows this? Why are there signs all over inviting everyone to "come on down" to our beach. Can somebody tell me what this does for West Haven?

Carol - the problem is the access. Most other communities that host beaches that are "public" have at the most one or two ways to access the beach itself. You have to drive up to a gate or a small gate house to get it at all. Greenwich beaches, Westport beaches, virtually all beaches on the shoreline and most state parks are operated this way. If you are a resident and have a sticker or a card you get in for free. If you are not you, have to pay. That's where we miss the boat, no pun intended. the beach is just one long, open strip of sand that anyone can access anywhere from the walk by chicks all the way down to the other end where it ends near south st. Anyone can just park and walk in. I am not sure how you can limit access to the beach itself since access is virtually wide open,

I don't have a solution, so I am not complaining, I am just stating the facts. What i will say however is I do believe that our city government should be looking at how to generate revenue from the thousands of out of towners who grace our fair city with their presence and their trash every weekend in the summer for free. They should be talking to other community leaders for ideas on how to make the beaches a revenue generating option for the city, rather than a revenue loser. But they won't. There isn't an innovate or froward thinking brain in that building. Oh well. I guess the solution is just keep raising our taxes so that other people can enjoy (and destroy) what the city has to offer for free.

@Carol
I'm not sure we earned the moniker "Waste Haven" due to high taxes. My understanding it's because we all are mentally ill, obnoxious, and live in a dirty city that's been forgotten by the "powers that be" very long ago.

PS: These "powers that be" are not at City Hall.

There has to be some kind of solutuion, guys. It's not just the people who enjoy the beach free....it's the trouble down there now. I love West Haven and I refuse to give up and just hand it over. HELP...ideas....if you had the power what would you do???????

In all seriousness, we can DEMAND that town hall play a more active roll in "Acknowledging" and then "fixing" these issues. Please send a message to Ben Berkowitz and ask his advice on how to get
town hall to "notice" this forum.

Hi Westie....I am assuming you are a native. I am adopted here but sure love West Haven...warts and all. I feel like a big dummie but I don't know Ben Berkowitz. I have always addressed my complaints to Tom Blake the mayor's assistant and gotten excellent results. Carol