Let's Talk About Our Beach Accesses

I've lived a block from this beach for a long time, and one of the things I love most is that the accesses belong to everybody. The early morning walkers, the families dragging coolers and boogie boards, the surfers checking the swell. We all squeeze down those same little walkways between the parking lots and the sand.

Something a neighbor shared this week hit a nerve with a lot of you. She was walking back to her car up around Arthur Avenue, and she passed the group of men who tend to sit right at the access. As she went by, one of them said "here she comes," and another one said "she's never alone." She had somebody with her that day, but she made a good point. She usually goes alone, and she shouldn't have to think about her safety just to get down to the water.

I want to be careful with this, because a conversation like this can get ugly in a hurry.

So here's where I land. The beach and the accesses are public and they're for everyone, no argument from me on that. Being down on your luck isn't a crime and I'm not looking to pile on anybody. But that walkway is the way in and the way out, and it needs to stay clear enough for a wheelchair, a stroller, a kid on a bike. And those comments? That's not some gray area. Making a woman feel watched or unsafe on her way to the beach is not okay, no matter who's saying it or what their situation is.

You can have compassion for somebody and still expect a clear path and some basic manners. Those two things live together just fine. That's just being a good neighbor.

Now for the useful part, because there was a lot of understandable confusion about who you're even supposed to call.

It depends on which beach you're standing on. If you're in Cocoa Beach, which is Arthur Avenue and everything south of there, call the Cocoa Beach Police Department at (321) 868-3251. They're open 24 hours. If you're up in Cape Canaveral, which covers Cherie Down Park and the accesses to the north, that's the Brevard County Sheriff's Office. Their Canaveral Precinct is over at 111 Polk Ave, a few blocks off the beach, and the number is (321) 868-1113. And if something is actually scary or getting worse in the moment, don't sit there debating it. Call 911.

Do me a favor and put those numbers in your phone now, before you ever need them. And report the small stuff too. One quiet complaint might feel like nothing, but three reports about the same access is exactly what gets an officer or a deputy swinging by more often.

I'm not going to pretend I've got this all figured out. It's a real tug of war in a beach town that keeps growing, and good people are going to see it differently. But the bottom line is pretty simple to me. Everybody gets to enjoy this beach, and everybody gets to feel safe getting to it.

Have you run into this at one of our accesses? I'd really like to hear about it. Tell me which spot, and whether calling actually made a difference. The more of us who speak up, the better we can look out for each other.

See you on the sand, Patrick