According to the Asbury Park Press, the borough of Deal has made a deal with the American Littoral Society, and an oceanfront homeowner in the town to create a public access point to the beach at the end of Neptune Avenue.
According to the news report, a set of stairs will be built “and maintained in perpetuity” down a rocky cliff; it will also be maintained as a visual access point, meaning nothing can be built or planted that would block the public’s view of the ocean from the street.
“It truly is a win for all parties,” said Tim Dillingham, executive director of the Littoral Society which had been involved in an access lawsuit with the borough. Dillingham told the Asbury Park Press, “There will be a nice set of stairs leading down onto the beach so that people can safely get onto the beach. And the public’s view of the ocean from the street will remain.”
The borough hand originally maintained that the end of Neptune Avenue was never an official beach access point, and that it is listed on a state government inventory of beach access points as a visual access-only spot.
While the new agreement provides a win for public access in Deal, it’s just another battle in a long war waged in the borough in which beach access advocates have accused Deal of trying to restrict public access to beaches replenished by government-funded beach replenishment projects. In the past, Deal has put forth numerous proposals aimed at limited street parking near the beaches to residents-only, only to be withdrawn later after public protest.
