Why Kennebunkport’s Colony Beach parking lot will be shut down for the summer
KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine — A sign at the entrance to Colony Beach on Ocean Avenue reads, “Closed to Vehicles Until Further Notice.”
That further notice is going to be a long time coming. The town of Kennebunkport announced this week that the parking lot at the beach will be closed through the summer, as a result of the damage wrought by the two storms that soaked and pummeled southern Maine in January.
The storms on Jan. 10 and 13, with their heavy rain and forceful, far-reaching high tides, reconfigured the gravel and large stones of the parking strip and created hazards for vehicles that would park among the 10 to 15 spaces available there, according to Town Manager Laurie Smith.
The town announced the closure on its official website, adding that long-term solutions are being considered at the site and parking along Parson’s Way, which is parallel to Ocean Avenue, will still be available for beachgoers.
The twin storms caused $850,000 in damages in Kennebunkport, according to the town’s initial report to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Smith said.
“As time progresses, we might understand these damages and their value in greater detail,” she added.
Previous story: Maine coastal communities struggle to recover from storms that caused millions in damage
Elsewhere in town, members of the Kennebunkport Select Board toured four sections of Goose Rocks Beach on Jan. 30. They visited places where sand dunes and other materials had been washed away by the weather. They also visited a site that experienced flooding in the west end of the community, according to Smith.
The entrance to Goose Rocks Beach at Dyke Road has been impacted by the storms, as well, Smith added, but beachgoers will still be able to use it when they visit the community this summer.
“Pedestrians will be able to use that entrance, but it looks much different than what they're accustomed to,” Smith said.
More: Without a dune and seawall, Kennebunk's Seaside Inn owner fears the next big storm
Kennebunkport is, of course, but one community along the southern Seacoast that is grappling with the aftermath of the storms’ one-two punch. Such towns as Kennebunk, Wells and Ogunquit each saw many of their dunes washed out and experienced close to or more than $2 million in damages. In Wells, the storms left more than a dozen beachside homes uninhabitable.
At the direction of Gov. Janet Mills, the Maine Emergency Management Agency recently began the process of seeking a Major Disaster Declaration from President Joe Biden to address the back-to-back storms. If the damage from these storms exceeds the state’s ability to respond financially, Mills will seek another federal disaster declaration.
If Biden does end up declaring a disaster, it will be the second such one he will have issued in as many months. Recently, Biden approved the state’s request for a Major Disaster Declaration to help ten counties recover from a storm in December that caused significant flooding, prolonged power outages, and extensive property damage across central and western Maine.
The Mills Administration’s Maine Flood Resources & Assistance Hub contains links to helpful information, resources, and assistance for Maine people who have been impacted by flooding and damages from recent weather events. The website is online at www.maine.gov/governor/mills/flood.
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This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Kennebunkport’s Colony Beach closed to vehicles due to storm damage
