Cape Cod town takes steps to ban day-trippers on July 4 after uptick in ‘dangerous conduct’
Parking restrictions brought in after a ‘dramatic increase in unsafe and dangerous conduct’ at the town’s three beaches
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The Cape Cod town of Dennis is imposing a parking ban to deter some Fourth of July beachgoers.
There will be no daily parking passes sold at Mayflower, Chapin, and Bayview beaches on the holiday, the Dennis Police Department said. Only cars with a valid 2024 beach sticker will be allowed to park in the beach lots.
Cars will also be banned from parking in neighborhoods in the Massachusetts town, or near businesses, close to the beaches. Violators could be ticketed and/or towed.
Only those with a residential, seasonal, or weekly parking sticker will be allowed entrance to the beach parking lots, police said.
The police attributed the new changes to a “combination of crowd size and alcohol has resulted in increasingly large, disorderly, and chaotic crowds.”
Dennis police chief John Brady explained the new policies in a Facebook video: “Over the past few years, we have seen a dramatic increase in unsafe and dangerous conduct: fighting, assault, vandalism, binge drinking, drug use, loud music and other concerning behavior.”
Police also noted that beachgoers have left behind “a tremendous amount of trash,” including beer cans, broken glass bottles, towels, clothing, shoes, coolers, beach chairs, that has taken the Department of Public Works hours to clean up.
Since 2019, there has been a 100 percent increase in beach-related calls for emergency services at the three beaches, a police release said. Dennis Police responded to more than 1,200 calls for service at its beaches over the past three Fourth of Julys, with 459 calls last year alone.
“Dennis is home to some of the best beaches on Cape Cod, including Mayflower Beach. Our goal with these measures is to make sure that beachgoers can enjoy Dennis beaches this July 4th holiday safely without worrying about out-of-control crowds, violence, and other dangerous behavior,” Chief Brady said.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments