Smoking at Baby Beach

Having recently moved to Wilmington with my wife and step-daughter, we were looking forward to spending some days at Baby Beach on Silver Lake. We live within sight of the beach and were excited about how close it is to us. It didn’t take long for us to realize that Baby Beach was not much more than a trash can/ash tray for residents and non-residents alike. It was highlighted this weekend by an unfortunate run-in with a fellow Wilmingtonian:

My wife and I brought a friend and her two young kids to the beach so they could play in the water. We noticed a few people smoking cigarettes. Finally, when a man who was smoking a cigarette walked by me and I said “excuse me, there is no smoking allowed on the beach.” He was somewhat taken aback, and immediately become defensive, asking me “where does it say that?” at which point his mother (assuming) butted in asking the same question, “says who?!” she yelled, perhaps thinking that we were making this rule up. My wife and I pointed to the “No Smoking” sign on the fence. “It’s on the sign.”

Her son eventually walked to the street and finished his cigarette while she continued her bullying, saying she was “from Wilmington” so she can do what she wants, and when I told her I’d call the police if she kept smoking on the beach, she said “go ahead!” and “it’s not like I’m smoking crack!” (True, she was not smoking crack.) We continued to tell her it was posted on the sign that no smoking was allowed. We had children with us, THEY had children with them and there were countless other kids and adults on the beach. For the life of us, we couldn’t understand this woman’s problem with our request to go to the street to smoke a cigarette. (Might I also mention that another nosy bystander decided it was necessary to butt in and eventually threaten to beat up my wife. For asking someone not to smoke on the beach.) Eventually she went her way and we went ours.

This incident highlights the attitudes that have taken over Baby Beach: a blatant disregard for the posted rules, a general sense of ignorance towards other peoples’ personal space, and a lack of resolve on the part of the town or police to assist in enforcement of the posted rules.

5 Problems I see:

·    There are no bathrooms? You can’t have a large congregation of people without a bathroom! This seems pretty basic. There are 100+ people on the beach, where are they going the bathroom? I’m open to suggestions here. I’d hate to have port-a-pottys plopped down on the beach because it’s almost a given that they’d end up tipped over or in the lake within a few nights.  

·    2 trash cans? This might be the one part of the beach that is somewhat adequate. But even so, by the end of a busy day they are heaping over the top and trash is everywhere. To be fair, the town does clean up each morning. Really all that could be done is add another trash can.

·    Smoking? This desperately needs to be addressed. There shouldn’t be any question about whether or not smoking is allowed on the beach. NO SMOKING means NO SMOKING! Nobody should have to engage with someone in an attempt to have them simply abide by the rules. It’s offensive and gross. Signs need to be bigger, and there needs to be more than one. The incident this weekend could have/should have been avoided if the signage was more visible. Honestly, how can a resident of Wilmington think smoking is allowed on a public beach? And police have to enforce this. What good does a sign do when there are no consequences for actions? Citizens should not have to call the police to report cigarette smokers;

·    Dogs? Sure, a good dog won’t bother anyone, but who likes a wet dog running across towels? It takes one dog bite to ruin the summer for everyone. Perhaps a “No dogs between 9am-6pm policy” can be instated?

·    Parking? Cars park off of Main St. next to Greg’s, on Cottage St., and Grove Ave. and by the end of the day, these “lots” are covered in trash and debris. Ticket the cars. Tow the cars. The streets surrounding the beach should not be made into a parking lot.

The beach either needs to become something more, or something less. Where it stands right now, it’s an absolute joke and the Town of Wilmington should be ashamed of what it has let it turn into. The town needs to make up its mind about what this beach is supposed to be.  Either lock it and make it available to ONLY residents, or offer some support/authority to make sure the beach doesn’t become overrun with trash, smoke, etc…

And Police need to keep a better eye on the beach. What good are rules when there are no consequences for breaking them? Obviously there are people who don’t take kindly to criticism or being told they are breaking rules. What happens when a citizen asks someone to stop smoking (or asks them to remove their dog; or pick up their litter) and it turns violent? This is a public place recognized by the town and maintained by the town. Police need to do the right thing and start enforcing these rules.  

No parking, no bathrooms, no life guards, no towns support? That’s not a public beach. That’s a Lord of the Flies situation in the making; a piece of sand. How can people expect to enjoy the beach when it’s covered in trash and the air is filled with smoke? Or when a two year old picks up a cigarette butt? Or when people leave their trash on the sand? Are people going there because they know they can get away with smoking and drinking? Yes. Are the police doing anything about it? No.

This isn’t an attempt to try and fend off visitors or deter beach-goers. It’s simply a plea for people to do the right thing. Don’t smoke on the beach; don’t drink on the beach; clean up after yourself…all fairly reasonable things to ask. It’s also a call to the Town of Wilmington to pay a little more attention to Baby Beach and the surrounding area. Let me be the first to start this discussion again: Baby Beach needs attention, or else it’s going to turn into a place where no one wants to go.  

And if the grumpy lady who wanted to smoke on the beach reads this, I hope you’re happy with yourself. You and your family ruined our day at the beach. And don’t expect me to ask you next time. Expect a visit from the police.