Surry voters asked to approve purchase of town beach access
by Jeffrey B. Roth
For more than 40 years, residents and visitors to Surry’s town beach have parked vehicles on a small lot at the end of the Newbury Neck Road.
“The wide open space with magnificent views of Acadia’s peaks and wide Union River Bay is frequented year-round by townsfolk and locals,” Betsy Armstrong, Surry select board chair, wrote in an Another View column to The Packet (see page 4). “All this may soon be available only in your memory….The Town has claimed it for parking but does not have legitimate rights to the space. The long-time owner has been unaware the lot had been commandeered and is looking to sell the property.”
Beach parking at issue in Surry
SURRY Beachcombers, saltwater swimmers and residents were alarmed to see a public parking sign covered at the Carrying Place beach off Newbury Neck Road last week and the parking area barricaded.
The lot, used as public parking for decades, is actually on private property. Selectman Eric Treworgy explained that the landowners have put the property on the market.
“The owner did not know it was being used as a parking lot and asked that the parking signs be covered and access blocked due to concerns about liability,” Treworgy said. “In the meantime, the beach is still open and accessible, it is just that folks cannot use that parking lot.”