The town of Old Orchard Beach reopened its world-famous beach to sunbathing and general recreational uses on Wednesday, lifting a previous restriction that limited use of the beach to walkers only.
Pine Point Beach in Scarborough which merges with Old Orchard Beach on its northern border will also allow sunbathing and general recreational uses, according to a statement posted Wednesday on the town of Old Orchard Beach website.
“From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Old Orchard Beach has worked in close cooperation with the town of Scarborough to manage the beach shared by the two towns, and Pine Point Beach will also be open for general recreational use,” the town said.
A “walking beach” only policy was adopted on May 11 by the towns, but after consulting with beach communities in southern Maine, Old Orchard Beach and Scarborough decided to open up the beach. However, people who use those beaches will be expected to comply with physical distancing guidelines by keeping a minimum of 6 feet between people not in your group, and keeping the size of your group to 10 people or less.
The town of Scarborough in a message posted on its Facebook page went a step further, announcing that it will open its municipal beach parking lots at Pine Point, Ferry Beach and Higgins Beach in the coming days. The lot at Higgins Beach will be fully open by Friday with the remaining beach lots fully open by June 5.
Scarborough said it based its decision to reopen municipal parking lots on the fact that people who were trying to access those beaches were creating traffic hazards by circling through neighborhoods searching for parking spaces or by parking on residential streets.
“Be aware that the COVID-19 virus remains a serious threat to all, especially those who are in a higher risk category and that following social distancing guidelines is something each person can do to make a positive difference,” the statement said. “Please do your part by walking to an area of the beach where you can set up your chair or towel at a safe distance from others.”
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
