Editor, Gazette-Journal:
The Gazette-Journal’s recent reporting on the Gwynn’s Island public beach parking restriction did not tell the whole story. Access to our small but beloved beach area is a very important issue for Gwynn’s Island residents and for residents of Mathews and Gloucester who are not fortunate or wealthy enough to own beach property. The recent court action directly opposes the goals of the Middle Peninsula Public Access Authority of promoting lucrative day tourism for the area, and of ensuring access to the Bay’s resources for all residents.
The beach is a highly valued resource for island residents and our guests. For those of us who live inland on Gwynn’s Island, the “Tin Can Alley” public beach has always been the only beach available for us to bring our families for swimming, fishing and just playing in the beach sand. The recent “agreement” between two individuals and VDOT represents a cruel insult to Gwynn’s residents and all others who have made use of this small but valuable community resource for many years.
The individuals cited in the agreement with VDOT (that VDOT is now thankfully opposing in court) are well known to many of us on the island. Even though our Tin Can Alley beach is a legal public access site, those individuals have claimed that we have no rights to our public resource. (Mathews officials have verified and enforced public access to the Gwynn’s beach in recent years.)
This family has claimed that Gwynn’s beach is a public nuisance. I have never witnessed any inappropriate behavior. No “drug use,” no “public intoxication,” no untoward or malicious behavior. In short, the beach has generally always been a particularly low-key neighborhood resource that is used only occasionally by visitors.
Given that the beach has been such a valued resource for all their neighbors on Gwynn’s Island, it would seem logical that the residents of the property next to our beach would have consulted with their island neighbors and fellow Gwynn’s Island Civic League members about their concerns, and sought input from us, before seeking to restrict access to our shared public resource.
As this matter moves forward, it is my hope that any court or public authority given responsibility for reviewing this matter will seek proper evidence and input from Gwynn’s and Mathews residents for whom the beach is a valued public resource, and who wish for it to remain accessible now and in the future, before rendering any decision on the matter.
James J. Morris, Ph.D.
Gwynn’s Island, Va.