PHIPPSBURG

“Popham Beach? Follow that car closely — pull up tight.”

That’s a phrase Phippsburg Chief of Police John Skroski repeats often Wednesday — the same simple instructions to wave after wave of distracted, frustrated and confused drivers trying to get into Popham Beach.

By mid-morning, traffic is already backed up over a quarter mile on the narrow road that leads into the park. Skroski and Officer Zach Thomas do their best to corral the cars safely to the popular beach while keeping through traffic flowing smoothly. Skroski notes that 2,000-2,500 people can visit the beach on a hot summer day, which “more than doubles our population in Phippsburg.”

Controlling the beach traffic puts a strain on the small police department, which has only one full-time officer, two part-time officers, and one seasonal employee who is hired solely to help handle the onslaught of tourists trying to find parking in the summer.

The two officers often arrive between 8:30-9 a.m. to set up their traffic cones and prepare for the morning rush of vacationing families. A sign about a quarter mile up the road directs park traffic into a small left lane, which is where the police chief sets himself up all morning to shepherd cars in the right direction. The park fills up early, with the gates closing some days before 11. Beachgoers can enter the park on foot, but parking can be scarce.

The line moves slowly, with many drivers on their phones, talking or simply not paying attention to the cars in front of them. Skroski and his partner take all this in stride with patience and professionalism as they try to keep traffic moving. Both officers stand in the road directing traffic in the hot sun wearing thick Kevlar and traffic vests every day for anywhere from two to five hours.

“It’s exhausting,” says Thomas. “Sunscreen is a must.”

Skroski says that he has shifted the department away from handing out tickets for every violation and instead focuses on communicating with the public. He’s put up signs, painted instructions on the road, and set up traffic cones.

“We’re our own public works department,” he jokes.

Skroski highly values community oriented policing, and he and Thomas work hard to answer every frustrated beach-goer who can’t find parking politely and respectfully.

Meagan Hennessey, park manager of Popham Beach State Park, says that the park is doing what it can with limited resources to ease the parking situation, and hopes to find funding to open a second entrance gate that would help lines into the park move faster. Until changes are made though, she reminds travelers to “expect a wait, and expect if you get here midday you will not find a parking spot.”

Skroski asks that would-be beach-goers be patient with the process of getting into Maine’s most popular beach.

“Bath Police Department handles Heritage Days for one weekend in the summer dealing with thousands of people,” he says. “But we deal with thousands of people every day of the summer.”

nstrout@timesrecord.com