WEEKAPAUG, R.I. — On July 15, Governor Gina Raimondo announced the parking lots at Misquamicut and Scarborough will be reduced to 25% capacity in an effort to keep the beaches less crowded. Cars should not just park anywhere so people can walk on to the beach.
This means there will be only 675 spaces available out of 2,700 at Misquamicut and 611available spots out of 2,445 at Scarborough.
Raimondo also said there will be an increase in police in the areas, including local restaurants and concessions to make sure people are social distancing and wearing masks.
Rhode Island reports as of Friday, more than 1,000 residents have died due to COVID-19. The state has also seen an increase in positive cases in the last three days.
On July 24, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management tweeted a press release reminding residents of the encouragement and limited parking capacity. This makes it two weekends in a row of Rhode Island asking residents of Connecticut and Massachusetts to not visit its beaches.
"By keeping crowds down and allowing for physical distancing on the sand, we are trying to protect public health and safety – in Rhode Island and other states," Director Coit said. "We also are trying to help our beach communities alleviate the heavy traffic that they have been experiencing this summer."
Misquamicut is known as a popular beach for residents of Connecticut to visit. This reduction should greatly impact visitors from out of state.
