Ballston Beach Parking Lot
Ballston Beach should be a priority area for coastal management within the National Seashore. There is a high threat level for this site. Long range planning should be conducted for this beach via a participatory process that includes local input, particularly because Ballston Beach is a resident beach for Truro. This means that beach goers can only park here during the summer if they have an annual Truro resident beach sticker or they have paid for a daily Truro visitor beach sticker.
The end of the Ballston Beach parking lot where one fifth of the spaces have been covered by sand.
Recommendations would be to first stabilize the barrier dune, which is currently being attempted by some sand fencing, yet it has not been erected in a way to maximize its dune building potential. Also key to the success of sand fencing is having strategically placed breaks in the fencing for people to pass through, otherwise sections of the fence can be vandalized by eager beach goers trying to get to or from the beach.
Currently parallel parking is only available on one side of the road but this may need to be changed to double parallel parking if more spots are lost.
Another recommendation surrounds the issue of parking spaces, since more spaces have been covered as sand has migrated. If there are not enough parking spots to meet the demand of summer visitors, as is often the case, this could be remedied by allowing parallel parking on both sides of the road from Brush Hollow down to the primary lot. To support more alterative means of getting to the beach, a generous amount of bike racks should be installed so that bikers are encouraged to ride to the beach, particularly because bikers do not need beach stickers if they do not come by car. Shuttle infrastructure has been implemented at test sites like the Eastham Coast Guard Beach after the inundation of the “facility in 1978 led to the construction of a remote shuttle parking lot at Little Creek Rd (estimated cost $750,000.00 in 1986).” Similar shuttle services should be explored at both Ballston Beach and Herring Cove as it could reduce the number of individual cars trafficking this nodal point and would be a more fuel efficient alternative.
If a shuttle service were introduced it should be done as part of a multi modal transportation plan that would include resident input so as to help facilitate a sense that residents are gaining more transportation options rather than having them taken away as articulated by Provincetown Selectman, Mary Joe Avellar. Despite fiscal considerations, the preferences and priorities of local residents are able to greatly influence management decisions as illustrated by the National Seashore’s decision to help fund the preservation of the historic Highland Lighthouse.
