Carol Kozma Journal Staff Writer CarolKozma

A couple of weeks ago, Michelle Folco headed to the beach at East Matunuck. But when she got there at 9 a.m., she was turned away. The lot was full.

It was a little upsetting because I had to pay 20 dollars to park," in a different lot, even though she had paid for a season parking pass for the state's beach lots, she said.

Since then, Folco has not had any other issues finding a spot. But she said when she headed to the beach last weekend, she left early from Pawtucket to make sure she could park her car.

Attendance at the beach is calculated by multiplying the number of cars that use the state beaches parking lots by 3.2. There are probably more visitors, Paquette said, as some people park in other lots when the states lots are full and others who live nearby or rent a vacation house walk.

In general, each attendance has been rising over the past several years, with a high of about 1.2 million people in 2016 at the seven state beaches for which the state keeps records. As of July 18 this year, 506,378 people had visited the states beaches.

But from the 2012 season to the 2013 season, there was a sharp drop from 1,044,224 to 862,259.

At the time Robert Paquette, chief of the Rhode Island State Parks, attributed the decline to extensive rain in May and June of that year. Paquette said he did not believe that the state's doubling of beach parking fees two years earlier had affected attendance significantly; the fees were cut in half again in 2016.

In an interview this year, Paquette once again said that weather was the most significant factor in the filled parking lots:

We have these spikes and downturns because of weather, Paquette said.

There are about 9,000 parking spots at the states beaches. With more accurate forecasts easily available on smartphones, it's easy for beach goers to look ahead for the sunniest and clearest day.

When the forecast points to a busy weekend, the state plans ahead too.

We reschedule some lifeguards to come in earlier, Paquette said, adding that state workers also coordinate with ProPark, the parking lots contractor, to open lots at the busier beaches by 8 a.m., rather than 9.On busy days, lots sometimes fill up in less than two hours, Paquette said.

One day this summer, Bruce Hoch of Seekonk was at Scarborough State Beach with his grandson. He takes him to the ocean at least once a week.

"He loves the water," Hoch said.

They'll visit Scarborough, East Matunuck or Horseneck in Westport.

But Scarborough is where they come most often. Hoch said he doesn't have any issues with parking.

"I generally come down here fairly early in the morning," he said, around 10 or 10:30.

That same day, Gianna Alberti and Kathryn Wheeler came together to Scarborough from Burrillville.

They were at the beach even before it opened, waiting in line a half hour until 9 a.m. for the parking gates to open, to make the most out of their beach day.

"The weekends are the worst," Wheeler said of finding a parking spot.

ckozma@providencejournal.com

On Twitter: @CarolKozma

(401) 277-7067

View post:

Rise in beach attendance presents parking challenges - The Providence Journal