Mayo Beach Park Rare Public Open Day *Sunday* 8/17/14 11 am - 3 pm

[Lisa]

Hi all,

There's a sliver of an opportunity to visit Mayo Beach Park, a "closed" public park, this *Sunday*, 8/17/14 from 11 am to 3 pm.

Mayo Beach Park 8/17/14 Open Day Announcement:
http://southriversource.com/2014/08/...ach-on-sunday/

Mayo Beach Park is right on the Bay between the South River and Beverly-Triton Beach Park. It has wonderful sandy beaches, picnic tables, shade trees, grass . . . and is rarely open to the general public:

Mayo Beach Park website: http://www.aacounty.org/RecParks/par...each/index.cfm

Make the most of this 4 hour window.

I don't know why it's only 4 hours and I wish it were more. Next time!

Directions: Take Route 2 south of Annapolis. Cross the South River. Turn left/east on Central Ave/MD214. Turn LEFT at Lou's Stop Shop. Turn LEFT at the Y intersection. Follow small Mayo Beach Park signs. Pass a world-class collection of go-away signage. Arrive at the park.



Lisa

[Lisa]

OOPS duplicate post SORRY. I don't know how to delete it.

Lisa

[Snakehead Hunter]

I hope they eventually open this park to public as well. Again, wonderful work on all the park Lisa

Khanh

[jet]

you just need to buy a permit to launch, no? $60 from march to oct.

http://www.aacounty.org/RecParks/par...cation2014.pdf

[Lisa]

Yes, and $60 for one person in one car to launch for 8 months is too much for limited "public park" access.

It's a public park, bought with public money, restored with public money, maintained with public money and that beach should be available to the general public.DSCF0689.jpg

I've launched from Beverly-Triton and landed at Mayo Beach and there is no one at Mayo Beach on beautiful sunny summer days.

Closing a public park to general public access is wrong, and it's been closed for so long that people think Mayo Beach Park is privately owned.

Lisa

[jet]

how did or does this limited access come about? does the person(s) who make these decisions live in a community near by? do the residents in the community get the majority of the permits and think of it just as a community tax?

[Lisa]

how did or does this limited access come about? does the person(s) who make these decisions live in a community near by? do the residents in the community get the majority of the permits and think of it just as a community tax?

The usual story is that the local community begs the county to buy land for a public park to prevent development of the land. Then the local community turns around and successfully pressures the county to not open the park. The result is a defacto private waterfront "public" park, bought and maintained with public money.

You can't drive into these "public parks". You can't park outside these "public parks" and walk in because there are "No Parking Anytime" signs on all the "public streets" for miles around. The community residents don't buy permits. The community residents just walk into the "public park".

The Mayo Beach Park launch permits are bought by a handful of windsurfers. The locals walk into Mayo Beach Park and use the beach. If you're an outsider and you park outside the park and walk into the park, the locals are quick to call the police and you can get a parking ticket.

It particularly sticks in my craw because these communities are water privileged - they have their own private community beaches and often have a private community pier or marina and they still block the general public from using the "public" waterfront parks in their neighborhoods.

Lisa

[Snakehead Hunter]

Yes, and $60 for one person in one car to launch for 8 months is too much for limited "public park" access.

It's a public park, bought with public money, restored with public money, maintained with public money and that beach should be available to the general public.[ATTACH=CONFIG]13023[/ATTACH]

I've launched from Beverly-Triton and landed at Mayo Beach and there is no one at Mayo Beach on beautiful sunny summer days.

Closing a public park to general public access is wrong, and it's been closed for so long that people think Mayo Beach Park is privately owned.

Lisa

Agreed 100%. So who do we complain to about public park that is not open to public?

[Frogsauce]

That's a damn shame. People are awful.

[Lisa]

Agreed 100%. So who do we complain to about public park that is not open to public?

That's a good question. Rick Anthony, the director of Rec&Parks has done a great job of improving water access (thank Rick for Beverly-Triton), but it's an election year, like it or not. The next County Executive of Anne Arundel County will call the shots on public water access in the county.

Steve Shuh (R) and George Johnson (D) are the candidates for County Executive of Anne Arundel County. I've been told that they're both nice guys and I don't know their positions on public water access. Mike Busch represents Annapolis in the Maryland Legislature and is the Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates so he has state-wide influence. Ask them for public access to the public waterfront parks.

Steve Schuh = steve@steveschuh.com
George Johnson = GFJSHER55@Yahoo.Com

Mike Busch (District 30A Annapolis) = speakerbusch@gmail.com

Beyond that, contact your county council member and anyone else who represents you or wants to represent you in your electoral district and ask for better public water access. I just made myself a cheat sheet from the state election board website so I can follow my own advice.

Maryland State Board of Elections Candidates List:

http://elections.maryland.gov/electi...tes/index.html

Enough of politics and back to kayaking,

Thanks

Lisa

[Fishinfool]

I helped organize my 40th high school reunion at Mayo Beach Park on Oct 1, 2011. It's one of the very few heated and enclosed waterfront venues in the county for events up to three hundred people. Good thing, it was forty
Degrees and raining. We were a hundred people under and lost $ because the one day rental was $1,500.

I agree 100%, that the park should be public all the time like it was back in the 60's and 70's.

[Lisa]

I helped organize my 40th high school reunion at Mayo Beach Park on Oct 1, 2011. It's one of the very few heated and enclosed waterfront venues in the county for events up to three hundred people. Good thing, it was forty
Degrees and raining. We were a hundred people under and lost $ because the one day rental was $1,500.

I agree 100%, that the park should be public all the time like it was back in the 60's and 70's.

I think a lot of these public parks have stayed "closed" because people don't know they exist and so don't know what they're missing.

Our strategy is simple: find the "closed" public parks, work to get people into them and then ask people to email the county and ask for general public access to the public parks. It worked for Beverly-Triton Beach Park.

Mayo Beach Park is open this Sunday 9/7/14. I posted the details in a separate topic. Please go to the Open Day and please tell your friends and family about it. Mayo Beach Park is a great kayak launch and it's also a great sandy beach for families.

Please email the county contacts I listed upthread and ask for general public access. It's helpful if you include your first and last names and your address so people know you're a real person. We found that photos are worth 10,000 words. I was surprised how much attention a simple photo got. Please attach those photos of you using the park with your email.

Thanks

Lisa

[Fishinfool]

Sounds great. I will try to make it out there Sunday. It's a really nice spot right on mouth of the South River overlooking the Bay. Thanks Lisa!

[Fishinfool]

image.jpg

I think a lot of these public parks have stayed "closed" because people don't know they exist and so don't know what they're missing.

Our strategy is simple: find the "closed" public parks, work to get people into them and then ask people to email the county and ask for general public access to the public parks. It worked for Beverly-Triton Beach Park.

Mayo Beach Park is open this Sunday 9/7/14. I posted the details in a separate topic. Please go to the Open Day and please tell your friends and family about it. Mayo Beach Park is a great kayak launch and it's also a great sandy beach for families.

Please email the county contacts I listed upthread and ask for general public access. It's helpful if you include your first and last names and your address so people know you're a real person. We found that photos are worth 10,000 words. I was surprised how much attention a simple photo got. Please attach those photos of you using the park with your email.

Thanks

Lisa

I did make it to Mayo Beach Park on Sunday for a short visit. I let the county gatekeeper (Rachelle) know how the kayaker community feels about such limited access.

There were only a couple of dozen people there, mostly families. BTW, the Annapolis Capital had a nice write up on the front page of yesterday's paper ( Monday, 9/8). http://www.capitalgazette.com/news/g...,3346810.story

My own pic (upside down, uploading from an I-phone is a bitch)

image.jpg