Storms Continue to Shrink Herring Cove Parking Lot

PROVINCETOWN – The winter storm season has been rough on the Cape’s coastline and erosion continues to devour the Herring Cove Beach north parking lot.

The lot, which once had more than 200 parking spaces, has lost all but a handful of spots over the last several years.

Plans call for a new lot to be built further inland.

Chief of Facilities and Maintenance for the Cape Cod National Seashore Karst Hoogeboom said they are in the process of reviewing contract documents which will be evaluated at a higher level before the project goes out to bid.

“We hope everything is in place so that we can start demolition and construction right after the season – right after Labor Day,” Hoogeboom said.

Hoogeboom said the National Seashore is fortunate that it started planning for the replacement of the lot as early as they did and that the funding was made available.

To move the lot further inland the work will require a section of Province Lands Road to be relocated as well.

Hoogeboom said he hopes the work will be done before the summer tourist season in 2019.

“We are going to make sure we put everything into the contract that says the contractor has to be ready for 2019, whether it’s Memorial Day or 4th of July,” Hoogeboom said.

He is optimistic that will get done – given the work to demolish the old restroom building and construction of a new facility was completed between Halloween and Memorial Day about five years ago.

Hoogeboom said the National Seashore plans to provide as much safe accessibility at the lot as possible for the summer season, but no repairs will be made.

“We will make sure it is safe for the public to use,” he said. “We will barricade areas. We will make adjustments to any overhangs to make sure that people don’t hurt themselves.”

Signage will be posted to request people stay away from the dangerous areas.

National Seashore officials are also paying attention to recent encroachment to the larger southern parking lot.

“It does get in some high surf/high tide periods. The water will come into that parking lot and we do get some flooding in there,” Hoogeboom said. “We’ve removed a little bit of the pavement and reconstructed the dune in front of it.”

The access to the bike trail is also gone and the new route will temporarily be along Province Lands Road.

“We will sign that and our law enforcement rangers will be working very carefully to make sure it is as safe as it can be,” Hoogeboom said.

By BRIAN MERCHANT, CapeCod.com NewsCenter

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