Fingers Crossed, City Officials Prepare For Pleasure Beach Access

water taxi
Water taxi will ferry folks to Pleasure Beach.

Reopening access to Pleasure Beach, a peninsula in the city’s East End shut off to the public for about 20 years, comes with a long checklist of what ifs, including safety and security. And then there’s the price tag as well. From Brian Lockhart, CT Post:

It’s been nearly 20 years since Pleasure Beach was open to the public, and at least then it was accessible by a bridge.

So it goes without saying that parks officials are trying to iron out all the details and still face uncertainties as they prepare to water taxi the first wave of summer visitors next Saturday to the reclaimed peninsula.

“We had a big meeting yesterday just talking about, ‘Let’s go over it again’,” said Charlie Carroll, head of the parks department, last week. “And we’re going to do a dry run next week. ‘Okay, what do we do if this happens’. We hope we have thought of everything.”

Full story here.

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10 comments

  1. Has the city ever heard of the term “feasibility” study? Apparently the city has two water taxis but only needs one. The city is clueless as to how many people are actually going to use it.
    I would guess the city has given no thought as to how will they know if everyone has left the island at the end of the day.
    This has the potential to be a total disaster if it is somewhat successful. To quote my good friend John Marshall Lee, “time will tell.”

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    1. If you need evidence, you’ll never be a leader. When it comes to water taxis, excess supply produces increased demand. Being “clueless” means working without a map and that’s what winners do, Bob.

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      1. Congratulations. Just when I thought you could not post a dumber comment then you have already, you go and outdo yourself once again. Feasibility studies ensure proper planning and reduce the margin for error. It is not evidence but prudence.
        If cluelessness were a guarantee for success, then Bridgeport should be the most successful city in the nation.

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  2. This will be a failure. You can tell in this article Mr. Carroll thinks it’s a waste of resources/money to do this, either rebuild the bridge and make it an accessible destination for all, or just keep it as it is. What really made me laugh is when he said we won’t be operating if there is a threat of storms that day. It’s summer, storms pop up a lot, gonna be fun to watch this play out, while Finch starts to blame others when it turns into a nightmare.

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  3. I don’t know who is going to use the beach. Usage was pretty dismal with the bridge. People were fishing out there mostly by the 1980s–even after the new bathhouse was built. The pier used to get busy when the snappers were in. The hardcore fishermen would be out on the rocks. Good luck getting everybody back when they are supposed to come back.

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  4. It appears the CT Post has obediently passed along the sketchy details provided by the city. Did the CT Post request budget numbers for the project? How many city staff are involved? Who is piloting the water taxi? Is Coast Guard certification required? I’m sure the city council has a firm understanding of the costs involved.

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  5. Tom, I know you said the council had a firm understanding of the costs involved in the water taxis. I laughed so hard it hurt and then I thought maybe this expenditure did not go before the council and the money came from the Finch/Sherwood slush fund.

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  6. Could you guys be any less supportive of an asset of the City that has not been used for decades? I think this is creative and will be a success. It will pave the way for fresh ideas instead of negative grey clouds sucking the creativity out of the City. Bob Walsh, how many more feasibility studies does this city have to pay for? Enough already! The city was already told years ago through a study of all of the things Bridgeport needs to do to succeed. I’d say 8 percent had been implemented. Pleasure Beach was part of this study and this study cost the City a shitload of money. I often wondered exacted how much a shitload is. We paid it over and over again. Kudos to those involved with water taxis to the beach. It is a positive action. Bob Walsh, will Marilyn Moore be sharing your pessimistic vision for Bridgeport’s future? That can only help Musto. Keep up the good PR. 🙂

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