Head of the Meadow parking lot closed

[Karl F]

Head of the Meadow parking lot closed
By Provincetown Banner
September 19, 2007
TRURO — Tourists come to the National Seashore to see the sand dunes, and nothing must get in their way, not even a sand dune. So when a particular dune started causing trouble at Head of the Meadow Beach, the Seashore girded for battle.

“The barrier dune was kind of covering up the parking lot,” said the Seashore’s chief of maintenance, Ben Pearson.

A major renovation project began this week is expected to take care of the problem once and for all.

On Monday, Seashore officials closed the Head of the Meadow parking lot so that it can be repaved, regraded and reconfigured over the next few months. The project will cost approximately $700,000 and will preserve the public access that has typically been available at the lot, Pearson said.

He explained that in order to keep the barrier dune from subsuming the lot, another sand dune had to be created to block the troublemaking dune’s advance. “A couple of years ago we sort of removed part of the parking lot to go ahead and have a secondary dune establish itself,” he said.

The parking spaces that were lost in the process will be restored in the upcoming renovation project. To make room for them, the islands and walkways between the car spaces will be removed, along with the curb stops, Pearson said.

The renovation will also address drainage problems that have plagued the lot in the past and will involve relocating some of the facilities that are there. New dressing rooms, showers and restrooms will be constructed, according to a press release from the Seashore.

The work is expected to last through Nov. 23 and will be funded partly by the Federal Highway Administration and partly by money collected in beach entrance fees