NBC 7’s Steven Luke has more details on why Coronado Beach is still open to the public.
Across most of San Diego County, beaches are blocked off with caution tape and marked with "closed" signs, but in the city of Coronado, beaches are open to the public, at least on weekdays, for now.
The Coronado City Council at a special meeting on Tuesday voted to keep their beaches open, for the most part, "after a lengthy discussion," according to a Facebook post from Coronado Mayor Richard Bailey. "This was not an easy decision for any of us tonight, but the city council believed it was a reflection of the reality on the ground and anticipation of what’s to come."
The new policy includes: keeping beaches open on weekdays and closing them on weekends, eliminating parking on the beach side of Ocean Boulevard, closing the dog washing station, and adding hand sanitizing stations at all entry points.
People will be asked to "keep moving," so there will be no lounging on the beach, Bailey said. Fire pits, beach volleyball courts and parking lots were already closed last week to prevent people from congregating while a state-wide "stay at home" order was in effect to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.
"We observed this weekend that, while the vast majority of beach visitors practiced proper social distancing, as warmer weather approaches the chances of larger crowds increases which reduces the ability of all of us to properly socially distance while enjoying the beach," Bailey said.
On top of their beach policy, the Coronado City Council also decided that parks will remain open, though playgrounds and tennis courts will be closed. Again, gatherings and loiterings will be prohibited.
The city council will re-evaluate their policy at an April 7 meeting.
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"Please let me assure you all that we will continue to be guided by the law, data, and observations when making our decisions with the public’s best interests in mind," Bailey said.
