The economics of beach parking lots

There was a time when I agreed with those who want to keep our beaches open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. After all, these are public lands and the public should have access. Right?

That is the theory. However, as we have seen in Falmouth Heights, what sounds good in theory doesn't always work in practice.

In fact, this issue is not about beaches, but rather beach parking lots. The beaches are free, and no one need pay any money to visit them. However, the revenue generated by controlling access to these lots in the summer helps fund town government.

Every businessman knows about diminishing returns. At some point, the cost of paying employees to keep the doors open exceeds the revenue generated by having longer hours. Likewise, the longer we keep the gates of the parking lots open, the more it costs us to maintain those lots. The tripping point - when the number of beachgoers no longer justifies the expense of keeping the parking lots open - comes after dusk.

Keeping parking lots open after dark increases trash, vandalism and other issues. If taxpayers are willing to pay for night attendants, more trash collection and police patrols, we could keep every lot open late. However, with a tight municipal budget that is getting tighter, closing the lots at night during the peak summer season remains the most cost effective way to keep the property clean and the problems at bay.

Why then do we keep the Heights lot open late?

If someone visits any other beach after dark, they will be on the beach. At closing time, it is easy enough to find them and ask them to leave. In the Heights, you have hundreds of people spread amongst several different locations. Inevitably, an owner cannot be found, and a car gets locked behind the gate.

That is where the trouble begins. Just locking the gate is ineffective; at one point, someone apparently drove their car through the fence to get out. Tow the car and you upset visitors and neighbors. Ticketing sounds good, but even Heights residents acknowledge that the police probably have more important things to do at 11pm than ticket cars. It's been suggested that the businesses retain a police detail, but the businesses don't need the parking. Why would they pay for something they don't need?

During two months of the year, Falmouth's population will double, if not triple. This population increase stresses our infrastructure, and we must find efficient ways to manage the associated issues. No one wants to deny public access to our beaches, so accommodations have been made for night owls. The Bristol lot is open until 10pm, and Megansett and Menauhant are open even later. Elsewhere, we can and should close the lots.

In theory, keeping all of the beach parking lots open all the time is a great idea, and for ten months we do. In practice, the expense - in time, money and goodwill - of keeping the Heights lot open late in the summer exceeds the benefits.

(This post was previously published as a guest commentary entitled "The economics of beach parking lots" in the Thursday, June 18, 2009 edition of the Falmouth Bulletin.)