New parking rules around Cape Elizabeth’s ‘secret beach’ spark outcry, protest
"Occupy Cliff House": Cape Elizabeth Parking Ban Draws Outcry From Nonresidents Who Say Public Beach Is Losing Its Access
CAPE ELIZABETH — A group of beachgoers from outside Cape Elizabeth plans to descend on Cliff House Beach later this month, protesting a parking restriction they say is shutting out the very people the beach belongs to.
The Cape Elizabeth Town Council's ban on parking along Shore Road and roughly two dozen neighboring side streets took effect in early spring and runs through October, allowing only residents who display a municipal recycling sticker to park in the area. For visitors from neighboring communities, that now means a walk of up to half a mile to reach the sand.
"It's a public beach. It should feel public," said Lexi Shorey, a South Portland resident who was visiting the cove with her husband, Adam, on a recent midday. The pair had driven that day instead of biking, only to discover the new restrictions. "We walked five minutes more," Adam Shorey added. On weekends, he said, they would likely skip the beach altogether and head to Willard Beach instead, where parking is less complicated.
The protest, dubbed "Occupy Cliff House," is being organized by Ian McClelland, who lives on the Portland peninsula and has frequented the beach for seven years. A group bike ride will set out from Monument Square on July 25, and more than 100 people had RSVP'd more than a month in advance, according to the public invitation.
"This is a movement, a takeover of a public space, a message to Cape Elizabeth and anyone trying to privatize public land," the invitation reads. McClelland said he wanted to give voice to frustrations he and others share. "You know what's easy: printing a lot of stickers and encouraging people to go to a beach on a hot summer day and hang out," he said. Merchandise bearing the slogan "Occupy Cliff House" has been selling at Strange Maine, a shop on Congress Street in Portland, with the tagline "gatekeeping disguised as public safety."
The debate over the parking ban touches on deeper questions about who a public beach belongs to. Cliff House Beach, known locally as a "secret spot," has drawn growing crowds over the past five years — sometimes more than a hundred sunbathers on a single summer day. Many Cape Elizabeth residents long argued that the traffic and congestion made the narrow roads unsafe.
Ann Bryan, who lives at the end of Sea View Avenue overlooking the beach, said she has noticed a marked drop in cars since the restriction took hold. She described the path from the stairs down to the shore as an "ankle-breaker" and said the beach is surprisingly small even at low tide. "It feels much safer to turn onto and cross Shore Road without parked cars in my sightline," she said.
Police Clerk Ed Hunt said officers have issued between 50 and 60 parking tickets in the area since May, a figure he called consistent with the expanded set of prohibited streets.
Not everyone supports the ban, though. Tehani Hanna, a South Portland resident, called the beach "an emotional, mental and physical health supplement for a lot of us." Hanna swims outdoors nearly every day because of health issues and previously visited once or twice daily with friends, some of whom could not bike or manage the long walk. "It's getting to be a longer and longer walk," Hanna said, adding that coordinating those outings has grown difficult. Still, people keep arriving — eight bicycles were clipped into the rack by lunchtime on a recent Wednesday, and on weekends the rack overflows.
The town is still grappling with secondary effects. Town staff and councilors have received complaints from residents on Preble Street and Woodland Road, roads just outside the parking district, who say more cars are circling in search of a spot. Town Manager Pat Fox said the municipality retains the authority to post temporary no-parking signs on those roads where safety becomes a concern, noting that double-parked cars on Preble Street can leave as little as 15 feet of passing room.
Town Council members said it is too early to assess the full consequences of the policy and have chosen to wait until this first summer plays out before considering any adjustments.
For now, both sides are watching. Residents who fought for years to curb congestion see relief. And nonresidents who consider the shoreline a cherished refuge are organizing to make sure their presence is felt.
