EastBayRI — Locals decry overcrowding at Little Compton beach

Beach-goers traverse cobbles as they look for a sandy spot in South Shore Beach Friday.

PHOTO BY RICHARD W. DIONNE JR.

April 18, 2023

By Paige Shapiro — Angered over out-of-towners, Little Compton residents want better access to the beach

With the summer season rapidly approaching, a handful of Little Compton residents –– a crowd, by the small town’s standards –– sat in on the Beach Commission meeting last Tuesday to air their grievances about South Shore Beach.

The group, led by resident Jeff Raposo, sought to inform the commissioners of their critiques on the beach’s alleged pitfalls: Overcrowding, inaccessibility, and what some say is unfair preference for out-of-towners.

“We’re not getting a good quality of life,” stated Raposo, who has lived in Little Compton since 2020. “There’s no parking spaces. The beach is overcrowded. And it’s very difficult for the residents to have access to beach.”

Raposo and a few like-minded residents told commission members that they disapprove of the “shunning” that town residents reportedly receive when the beach parking lot fills up, a point strongly contested by Jim Farrell, the beach’s manager.

"The lot was not closed [to town residents] once last year. Not one resident was turned around,” Farrell insisted. “If you were turned around, it was because you weren’t identified properly as a town resident.”

The beach situation in Little Compton gets more and more dire every summer, agreed the group of displeased residents, and it's not just the constant accumulation of rocks that are the issue. The “incredible overcrowding” due to the beach’s “overselling” of beach stickers is something that disgruntled local, Sheri Massa, believes should be re-examined. The commission confirmed that in 2021, Little Compton sold 391 seasonal passes, 3,271 weekend passes, and 6,095 weekday passes, and that the parking lot can fit 250 cars.

“They just hope that everybody doesn't show up at the same time,” Massa posited.

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