Beach tag

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Beach tag from Ocean City, New Jersey Ocean City NJ beach tag August 2020.jpeg
Beach tag from Ocean City, New Jersey
A sign telling visitors that beach tags are required in order to use Cape May, New Jersey's beaches. Capebeachtags.jpg
A sign telling visitors that beach tags are required in order to use Cape May, New Jersey's beaches.

A beach tag (also beach badge, beach pass, or beach token) is an admission pass that must be purchased to access a beach. It is commonly associated with the Jersey Shore in the U.S. state of New Jersey, where many communities restrict summer beach access to residents and visitors who pay a fee for a daily, weekly, or seasonal pass. Beaches with a beach-tag program use the proceeds to offset the maintenance and staffing costs associated with running a beach, such as funding lifeguards, restrooms, and trash removal. [1]

Contents

History

Beach tags for New Jersey beaches can be traced back to 1937 when some towns in the northern portion of the Jersey Shore such as Seaside Heights had brass beach badges marked by gender. Surf City on Long Beach Island started requiring beach tags in 1967. [2] Stone Harbor became the first municipality in the southern portion of the Jersey Shore to require beach tags in 1971, and Sea Isle City followed suit in 1972. In Ocean City, beach tags were implemented in 1976, although discussions for beach fees in the city date back to the 1930s. [3] Long Beach Township on Long Beach Island approved beach tags on November 5, 1976. [2] In 2021, the Cape May County municipalities of Wildwood, North Wildwood, Wildwood Crest, and Upper Township - four of the five municipalities in New Jersey which do not have beach tags - were considering implementing them. [3]

Pricing

Daily, weekly, and seasonal tags can usually be purchased at participating beaches, [1] and each municipality sets its own rates and policies. Beaches typically do not charge for children under the age of 12 and may offer discounts to seniors. [1] In certain municipalities, discounts are given for seasonal passes purchased before a specific date (e.g., May 15 in Seaside Heights [4] ).

The beach tag offered by one municipality may not grant access to beaches in other municipalities. For example, Long Beach Island, which is about twenty miles long, comprises six municipalities, each with its own beach tags, and beach-goers cannot purchase a tag in one Long Beach Island municipality and use it in another. [1] [5]

Criticism

The goals of beach tags, or tokens, are to either restrict the beach to only community members, or to generate user fees for lifeguards and maintenance (e.g., trash removal). On the Jersey Shore, beach tags are controversial because the public trust doctrine generally gives the public the right to access the intertidal zone, [6] [7] and guests may feel that a beach with beach tags should offer a superior service to free beaches. [1] Additionally, detractors debate whether beach tags are actually to restrict beach use to people who are paying visitors of hotels, beach house rentals, and local residents. [1]

Proponents of beach tags suggest that they improve the cleanliness and safety of the beaches, making the tag fees akin to user fees that prevent freeloading. [8] In addition, proponents note that the beaches which require beach tags are those located in smaller municipalities, which because of beach tags are permitted to offer a similar product to the larger municipalities. [1]

New Jersey municipalities that do not require beach tags

The following municipalities did not require beach tags as of the 2015 beach season: [1]

Other places

In Evanston, Illinois, "beach tokens" may be required for entrance to the beach for people and even pets. [9] The beach tokens are often made of metal or other durable material, to enable them to withstand swimming. The bearer may either carry them, or wear them around their neck or on their swimsuit. [10]

The Village of Island Park and the city of Long Beach in Nassau County, New York issue beach tags for the use of their beaches. [11]

Related Research Articles

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Cape May County is the southernmost county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Much of the county is located on the Cape May peninsula, bound by the Delaware Bay to its west and the Atlantic Ocean to its south and east. Adjacent to the Atlantic coastline are five barrier islands that have been built up as seaside resorts. A consistently popular summer destination with 30 miles (48 km) of beaches, Cape May County attracts vacationers from New Jersey and surrounding states, with the summer population exceeding 750,000. Tourism generates annual revenues of about $6.6 billion as of 2018, making it the county's single largest industry. The associated leisure and hospitality industries are Cape May's largest employers. Its county seat is the Cape May Court House section of Middle Township. The county is part of both the Jersey Shore and South Jersey regions of the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margate City, New Jersey</span> City in Atlantic County, New Jersey, US

Margate City is a city situated on the Jersey Shore on Absecon Island, within Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, on the Atlantic Ocean shoreline. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 5,317, a decrease of 1,037 (−16.3%) from the 2010 census count of 6,354, which in turn had reflected a decline of 1,839 (−22.4%) from the 8,193 counted in the 2000 census. Geographically, the city, and all of Atlantic County, is part of the South Jersey region of the state and of the Atlantic City-Hammonton metropolitan statistical area, which in turn is included in the Philadelphia-Reading-Camden combined statistical area and the Delaware Valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Wildwood, New Jersey</span> City in Cape May County, New Jersey, US

North Wildwood is a city located on the Jersey Shore in Cape May County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The city and all of Cape May County are part of the Ocean City metropolitan statistical area, which in turn is part of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD combined statistical area, also known as the Delaware Valley or Philadelphia metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 3,621, a decrease of 420 (−10.4%) from the 2010 census count of 4,041, which in turn had reflected a decline of 894 (−18.1%) from the 4,935 counted at the 2000 census. North Wildwood is home to the Hereford Inlet Lighthouse.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strathmere, New Jersey</span> Populated place in Cape May County, New Jersey, US

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildwood, New Jersey</span> City in Cape May County, New Jersey, US

Wildwood is a city in Cape May County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The city, and all of Cape May County, is part of the Ocean City metropolitan statistical area, and is part of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD combined statistical area, also known as the Delaware Valley or Philadelphia metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's year-round population was 5,157, a decrease of 168 (−3.2%) from the 2010 census count of 5,325, which in turn reflected a decline of 111 (−2.0%) from the 5,436 counted in the 2000 census. A popular Jersey Shore resort destination, the population can swell to 250,000 during the summer. Wildwood was the first city in New Jersey to have a female mayor, Doris W. Bradway, who was ousted in a 1938 recall election.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seaside Heights, New Jersey</span> Borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, US

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "New Jersey Shore Guide: What Are Beach Tags?". visitnjshore.com. February 5, 2015. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04.
  2. 1 2 Weaver, Donna (May 25, 2009). "History of New Jersey beach badges is murkier than tides". The Press of Atlantic City. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  3. 1 2 Barlow, Bill (January 29, 2021). "Wildwood towns consider beach fees". The Press of Atlantic City. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  4. "Beach Information". Seaside Heights. Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2011-03-01.
  5. "2023 LBI Beach Badge Information". welcometolbi.com. 2023-04-17. Retrieved 2023-08-18.
  6. Polis, Robert and McRae, Leslie. Back to the Beach: Bob Polis looks at surprising issues for beachgoers and beach property owners Archived July 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine , December 1, 2005.
  7. Degener, Richard. Ruling expands access to beaches, Atlantic City Press, May 21, 2004.
  8. Smith, Shaun (November 17, 2010). "Commissioners at odds over raising beach tag fees". Shore News Today. Archived from the original on 2010-11-29. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  9. "?". City of Evanston. Archived from the original on August 4, 2008. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
  10. "?". City of Evanston. Archived from the original on May 2, 2008. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
  11. "Beach Park Info". City of Long Beach.