Subscriber Comments for
Keep Our Beaches Free

Comments in order of when they were received | (reverse order)

GILBERT	2012-08-17 02:25 AM
Thanks to everyone who took the time to speak to the commissioners . Remember , though , the Santa Barbara County Supervisors are the ones we have to convince. Please continue to email or call their offices to let them know what a bad idea this is. Also , Surfrider has won many battles for the beaches and the county should listen when Surfrider says they will be fighting this.
COMMENT 309348P	2012-08-17 06:28 AM
Only time will tell which group has the most influence. Hope we (those who oppose this new tax, uh fee) do.
COMMENT 309382	2012-08-17 07:52 AM
Once they start charging they'll never stop.
COMMENT 309385	2012-08-17 07:56 AM
When is the Sup's meeting?
COMMENT 309413	2012-08-17 08:37 AM
Can someone tell me why it's not ok to charge for beach parking? Santa Barbara City does it and I don't hear an outcry. If it would dissuade people from driving their cars to the beach, and if they would make sure to have bus access and bike racks, then I think it's a fine idea.
COMMENT 309414	2012-08-17 08:37 AM
In order to pay huge pension benefits to former county employees, present users must now start funding present county services. Get used to this. You elected union-friendly supervisors for decades who granted all these pension benefits and now you have to start paying for the decisions they made. If you voted for county supervisors Susan Rose, Gail Marshall and Naomi Schwartz who became the board of supervisor majority for years, this is your reward. Pay up and shut up. You did this to yourselves. This is what you get putting the employee unions on both sides of the bargaining table who handed out employee perks like penny candy while you get stuck using your dollars to finally pay them off.
COMMENT 309426	2012-08-17 09:05 AM
SB downtown beaches are not the same as the rest of them. People don't go there daily to surf early in the morning. You can park elsewhere downtown and walk along the beach without incurring charges, and most people don't tend to do this on a daily basis. The other beaches are also very isolated with regards to parking. Walking to Goleta beach for anyone would be a 1-2 hour affair. Surrounding neighborhoods are the only places where alternate parking would be available for Hendry's, and I'm sure the neighbors would love it. Some beaches I understand, because they are huge tourist spots, but the locals already pay more than tourists for the upkeep on these spots. Why double charge us when we are the ones who have to put up with the tourists? For them its not a big deal once every blue moon, but if you like to fish off the Goleta pier or even hang out a few nights a week, it would add up extremely fast.
COMMENT 309437	2012-08-17 09:19 AM
NATURE SHOULD ALWAYS BE FREE! 'nuff said...
COMMENT 309442	2012-08-17 09:21 AM
Great turnout at last night's meeting! Everyone who spoke brought up great points and I think we made an impact in our opposition of beach fees. I think the final decision will be made in October?
COMMENT 309414	2012-08-17 09:39 AM
When nature is free, the collection of trash, cigarette butts, human excrement, polluted waters, illegal activities and uncontrolled fires will wipe out any enjoyment of Nature. Park use should be user-funded. People will respect it more if they have to pay for it. Natural order of things.
COMMENT 309467	2012-08-17 09:44 AM
Really great turn out at the meeting. I've never seen such passionate outcry! I really hope SB LISTENS to us. The beach should always be free. The money can be found elsewhere. I will continue to follow this issue and protest the fees LOUDLY! I hope anyone reading this does the same.
COMMENT 309477	2012-08-17 09:57 AM
Near the end a woman reduced a lot of us to tears when she described how limited her options were as an apartment renter and how much she treasured her access to county beaches. Even one of the Supervisors was visibly teary. Underemployed, unemployed, fixed income, students.... every slice of life benefits free public access. Let's keep it that way. Please take the time to contact your representative on the Board of Supervisors and voice your opposition. This was made clear at the end of the meeting. I just googled "board of supervisors" plus my zip code to turn up contact information.
COMMENT 309486	2012-08-17 10:10 AM
If you cant pay the fee, how about riding your bike to the beach, is there a fee for parking a bike?, walking? ride the bus? there are options if you are strapped for cash.
COMMENT 309477	2012-08-17 10:12 AM
Interesting to see the same number (@461) on 2 posts.It helps to know whether a particular opinion is being voiced by a single, persistent voice, or many individuals.
COMMENT 309494P	2012-08-17 10:18 AM
It's easy for some to say, ride your bike, take the bus, or walk. I sure wish I had your life. If I had the time or ability to do so with an Infant and toddler in tow, these options would be great. You try carrying two children, sand toys, towels, clothes, snack, and an umbrella to the beach on a bike, walking, or on the bus. Thanks for being so one sided.
COMMENT 309414	2012-08-17 10:49 AM
People can use public transportation. And it is cheaper than revving up the auto. One save money learning how to get around on the bus, even to the beach with kids in tow. Be an example to your children and get them to pitch in too to help. If they want it, they have to bring it in a back pack. Yes, one can and needs to do this, if you don't want to pay to drive your gas-guzzler and demand other people pay you for your sense of privileged entitlement. Over-stating the case to keep getting freebies at the expense of the rest of us is a failed argument. The proper argument is stepping up to pay and/or make it work for you to avoid this necessary user fee. Voters created this structural deficit and voters have to solve it. More demands for free benefits while not paying for them doesn't work any longer. The new public ethic. No more public funded nanny state spending other people's money.
COMMENT 309552	2012-08-17 11:27 AM
i agree with @494. theoreticaly it sounds great to just "ride your bike", but realisticaly not everyone has the luxury of that amount of time. same with riding a scooter. hard to carry all of your gear on a scooter. and what if you are bringing your dog? one way doesn't work for everyone. great about the turnout for the meeting tho!
COMMENT 309602	2012-08-17 12:56 PM
- We already pay for the beach with tour axes. - We volunteers keep the beach clean NOT the county. - My dog cannot ride a bike or bus and can only do limited therapy beach walks. Some of us HAVE to drive. - These supes are the same bunch that have forgone millions in bed tax for the miramar and by precident, any other hotel that gets built. Bailout for wealthy Montecito at beach goers expense is decidedly elitist. -In an 'economy' of vanished vacation budets this is a particularly cruel tax. -In an era of severe nature deficit, children need free access to beaches, we all do. Go re create!
COMMENT 309606	2012-08-17 01:00 PM
Charging for coastal access and SB's last free recreation to pay for bloated county salaries, pensions and benefits is just wrong! This will disproportionately effect people who cannot afford green fees, private beaches and country club memberships, let alone beachfront property. Shame on them for even suggesting it! Beach access is sacred and non-negotiable!
COMMENT 309657P	2012-08-17 02:39 PM
Thank you to all that showed up to voice opposition to beach parking fees. While I can (and do) mostly walk to the beach, I am lucky to be living this close. I don't think it's right to charge for parking. The City beaches charge for parking, and that is why most locals do not go to those beaches, unless you're a homeless local looking for a place to sleep.
COMMENT 309668	2012-08-17 03:05 PM
If you can afford a car, two children, sand toys, towels, clothes, snack, and an umbrella, you can afford to pay a few bucks for parking. If you can afford a car and a dog, you can afford a couple of bucks for parking. If you can afford a car, a surfboard, and to surf daily, you can afford to pay for parking. Obviously, none of us want to pay for something that is currently free. But none of these are examples of people who "can't" afford a parking fee, they're examples of people who prefer to spend their money on other things AND want a free parking spot at the beach.
EDHATBARBARA	2012-08-17 03:13 PM
When I lived in Ventura I never thought twice about having to pay for beach access parking. City lots, county lots, state beach lots -- all have meters, gates, booths, whatever. In L. A. county, there isn't a beach lot anywhere for free. Back east, one drives toll roads to get to the beach, and then pays exorbitant entry fees, then fights with zillions of other drivers to find a parking space before hiking long distances while carrying all the beach gear to find a few inches of sand not covered by someone else's towel or stuff. We have had it exceedingly good here, but life keeps getting tougher. Our buses, shuttles and other forms of alternative transportation make it possible to avoid paying for parking if we think it through and plan ahead, we just don't want to change our habits.
COMMENT 309689P	2012-08-17 03:56 PM
If you have limited time, e.g. working 2+ jobs and have kids, or are disabled, a bus/bike is not an option. This is a regressive tax on the marginal members of the community. I don't know why people are so unable to visualize that someone else's situation might be different than their own. Everyone who has so much extra income that beach parking is no big deal...why don't you just donate it to the county.
CORKY	2012-08-17 03:59 PM
I don't think riding a bus would be very practical if you were carting kids and paraphernalia. Difficult for the dog people too.
COMMENT 309693	2012-08-17 04:01 PM
"marginal members of the community" do not own cars and shouldn't have to subsidize the rest of us to park ours.
CORKY	2012-08-17 04:07 PM
I think afford is a relative term. There may be people who already owned cars before they were laid off or cut back. The beach has been one of the few places of beauty and recreation available to all.
COMMENT 309763	2012-08-17 07:34 PM
Amazing how the decision makers not only disinfranchise many user groups in our community by wanting to charge parking fees at Goleta Beach Park while at the same time eliminating 20% of the parking spaces in the name of enhancing the recreational experience ! Additionally who would want to pay to visit a beach park that will be again ravaged by Winter storms when the "Managed Retreat" plan of Goleta Beach 2.0 is forced upon the Community by the California Coastal Commission ! GO FIGURE !!
COMMENT 309770P	2012-08-17 08:01 PM
Who are these people who think we should pay? Probably not frequent beach goers. Probably not natives who have always enjoyed to recreate for free. Probably not people who drive to these beaches. I say to you, when you have something you feel strongly about, I'd like to know, so I can oppose your option just to be a pain in the you know what!

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