Parts of Bishops Beach are now off limits to motorized vehicles and blocked off. Homer City Manager, Katie Koester says the project was recently completed.
“Bishop’s Beach, east of the parking lot, so turning left of the parking lot. And last week, public works installed boulders as a physical barrier. There is a gate there so that emergency vehicles can travel down the beach,” said Koester.
Last week, the Public Works department blocked off the beach with the large boulders and installed the gate.
Koester says the goal is to protect habitat and provide pedestrians with a safe place to walk. She says the Bishop’s Beach area is now permanently closed.
Another nearby beach will soon be temporarily off limits to drivers.
“Mariner Park is open to vehicles during the winter months, October 1st to March 31st in order to facilitate gathering of coal. The council really heard strongly from coal gatherers that that was really an important part of their livelihood here in Homer. So they have instituted a seasonal closure. So in the summertime when there’s just more people, more activity that beach is closed and in the winter it’s open,” said Koester.
Both closures are part of a new beach policy adopted by Homer City Council in February. There’s more information about the closures on the city’s website.
