Act respectfully and clean up your mess
Dirty diapers. Bags of food waste. Empty beer bottles. Puddles of urine. Old Styrofoam coolers. Used coffee cups.
This is hardly the stuff of summertime dreams. Unfortunately, these and many other unsavory items regularly are deposited at private properties throughout the region by beach-goers who enjoy the shore on hot, summer days, but unfortunately do not see any reason to leave the area clean and tidy. In short, they expect to find clean conditions at the beach, but see no responsibility in leaving it in the same manner. They should. On July 4, for example, some 13,000 people crowded New London’s Ocean Beach. This is generally good news for the city and for all those folks who got to enjoy what was a gorgeous summer’s day. It was not such good news, however, for neighbors such as those who live in Neptune Park. All manner of debris was deposited at and around the beach on the holiday, leaving beach workers to pick up trash throughout the area on July 5.
It is to their credit that they did so, with Ocean Beach management recognizing the responsibility for cleaning up litter associated with beach visitors extends beyond the footprint of the resort and its associated parking lots. The point is that they shouldn’t have been put in this position. People should pick up after themselves.
At Old Lyme’s Sound View Beach, the private Miami Beach Association resorted this year to erecting a fence in the sand and to charge admission, in response to the disrespect property owners say members of the public show for the beach and nearby private residences. Association president Mark Mongillo said property owners there for too long have dealt with the proliferation of trash such as empty pizza boxes and dog feces. They also have found beach-goers sitting on or removing furniture from private patios and witnessed people having sex on the beach.
Mongillo told a Day reporter recently: “Over the past two or three years, there’s been an influx of people who really have no respect for property, have no respect for public decency, and basically have ignored all kinds of requests to behave themselves.”
These types of struggles play out annually at spots all along the state’s coast.
We believe Connecticut has too-little shoreline public access, a fact that results in too much of the public crowding into too-little space. Further, we don’t advocate for erecting fences or charging fees as a means to try to force civility, especially when only a minority of the public cause problems.
It’s easy to understand, however, how being subjected to piles of trash and repeated crass and unsavory behavior can lead local residents to want to take drastic measures to retain peace and cleanliness in these natural spaces.
This is Sailfest weekend in New London. It’s quite the party. We welcome the visitors and hope they enjoy the city, the fireworks, the fried food, the views and the music, but ask that they carry their trash to the nearest receptacle and not just dump it on our streets.
It comes down to personal responsibility, remembering and living out that timeless golden rule we were taught as young children.
The “Leave no trace” naturalist ethical practice has been advocated for some 60 years. It’s time all of us reacquaint ourselves, and remind each other, of its importance.
This is Sailfest weekend in New London. It’s quite the party. We welcome the visitors and hope they enjoy the city, the fireworks, the fried food, the views and the music, but ask that they carry their trash to the nearest receptacle and not just dump it on our streets.