Long Beach West Commission Compiles Preliminary List of Proposals

Sprucing up the parking lot and entry way, and building a boardwalk for sightseers topped the list of items the town’s Long Beach West Blue Ribbon Commission has for the town-owned stretch of barrier beach.

The list was distilled from a "homework assignment" that Chairman Patrick Gribbon gave to the commission members at their first meeting in June, for what the town should do with the valuable shoreline real estate.

"What we’re trying to do now is look at all the different things that came in from people and see what’s practical," Gribbon said at the commission’s latest meeting Monday.

He said the commission would now develop a plan, then consult with state and federal wildlife conservation officials to determine what is possible.

Long Beach West is a nesting area for shorebirds on the endangered species list, most notably piping plovers, and any recreation uses must be designed to protect the birds, he said.

Another consideration is that Bridgeport owns the western most end, known as Pleasure Beach, and is proceeding with its own recreational development plans, Gribbon added.

Commission member Milan Bull, an ornithologist for the Connecticut Audubon Society, said it would be important for the two communities to coordinate their plans.

Bridgeport’s plan reportedly includes a fishing pier and a boat dock to accommodate water taxi service to get there.

Topping Stratford’s list of proposed improvements is the expansion and beautification of the parking lot and entry area to make Long Beach West more amenable for visitors. Some version of that appeared on nearly every member’s "homework," Gribbon said.

Another top proposal was to build a boardwalk designed to let visitors walk among the dunes without disturbing the piping plover nests, which the birds construct on the ground hidden in the beach grass. An elevated boardwalk could also give sightseers better views of Long Island Sound and the Great Meadows salt marsh, members said.

Other proposals include adding good quality beach sand to improve the bathing beach areas; adding signs that would inform visitors about wildlife, geology and the rules and regulations for the area; building restrooms, a snack bar and other visitor amenities; building a campsite and a recreation pavilion further out where beach cottages used to be; and adding a kayak and canoe launching location near the parking lot.

Interest in the boardwalk proposal prompted some commission members to share boardwalk designs used on Cape Cod and at Milford Point across the mouth of the Housatonic River.

The boardwalk would only extend about a quarter of a mile, ending at the third stone groin from the parking lot. However, a dirt path affords access from the parking lot all the way to the Bridgeport section of the barrier beach.

What would you like to see improved at Long Beach West? Tell us in the comments section below.

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