Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken, Police Chief Edward Conley, Director of Public Works Michael Hale and Public Health Director Karin Carroll announced this morning that the City of Gloucester is reopening public beach parking lots at a reduced capacity to non-residents this upcoming weekend, July 25-26.
This weekend the parking lots at Good Harbor and Wingaersheek Beaches will be open to residents and a limited number of non-residents. Stage Fort Park and its beaches will be open to the public. Non-residents will be required to pay daily parking rates at the gate. Residents will be able to continue parking in these lots with either a 2019 or 2020 beach sticker, or a car registration and license with a Gloucester address if they are still waiting for their beach sticker.
For the remainder of the summer, the City of Gloucester will announce any parking restrictions for the coming weekend on the Wednesday prior. Real time parking updates will also be posted regularly to the Gloucester Beaches Facebook page run by the City at
@gloubeaches.
The City’s announcement noted that on weekends the Good Harbor and Wingaersheek parking lots typically fill up by 9am and begin to reopen in the afternoon. While visitors wait to get into the beach parking lots, the City encourages people to enjoy all that Gloucester has to offer, including whale watches, fishing charters, museums, parks, restaurants, fresh seafood, artisans and more.
“All of our public spaces are busier than ever this summer,” Mayor Romeo Theken said. “Our beaches are beautiful, but there are so many other things to do in our great City. We love life here in Gloucester and know you will too. Join us for the day and dine in our amazing restaurants featuring the freshest fish and local fare, visit the historic Rocky Neck Art Colony, stroll down Main Street, enjoy shops, cafes and galleries in every neighborhood throughout the City, go on a whale watch, sail, or visit our museums.”
“We will be closely monitoring parking violations in the City for the remainder of the summer, and it’s essential that everyone continues to follow any future limitations the City may place on the public parking lots or on residential street parking near public spaces,” Chief Conley said. “Thank you to everyone for your continued patience and understanding.”
The City will have increased police patrols on the beaches for the remainder of the summer and Beach Rangers will also be present each weekend at Stage Fort Park and Gloucester beaches.
To read the entire announcement, including the city’s COVID-19 beach management protocols
please click here.