Monday, May 19, 2025
Long Beach officials are working to clear up confusion surrounding changes to beach access and enforcement ahead of the start of beach pass sales on Monday.
Amid heightened public interest, reflected by the online discussion after the March 18 City Council meeting, officials said that the adjustments in beach pass policy and procedures are meant to improve efficiency and fairness.
Despite community speculation, no beach entrances are being eliminated. Every access point will remain open, and the only changes will involve the elimination of staircases where ramps already exist. Those staircase areas will be converted into boardwalk-level shower stations, allowing visitors to rinse off without walking through sand.
“There will be no entrances shut down,” City Spokesman John McNally said. “Every single entrance will remain open. We are eliminating the stairs to make it so there is a single point of entry.”
In response to concerns over staffing changes, officials emphasized that no younger employees are being forced out. Teen ticket takers and cashiers will still be hired this season, and no positions are being eliminated. The only change is the addition of more experienced personnel, such as retirees, to support the young staffers.
“The only real change in staffing is the addition of some more senior personnel to help at our busier locations,” city Parks Commissioner Joseph Brand said, adding of the younger employees, “I’m just going to say that they’re inexperienced. You put somebody in that environment who’s a little bit more seasoned and has a little more experience dealing with people, I think it’s only going to be a positive thing.”
While some residents expressed concerns about the privacy and tracking of their beach pass data online, officials said the new system does not include GPS tracking and does not collect any more information than in previous years. The barcode system simply tracks when and where passes are scanned, giving the city a clearer picture of beach use patterns.
“We know by the amount of purchases where our busier beaches are, where we have to supplement personnel, where we need to be conscious of in terms of beachgoers’ safety, where we need to perhaps put additional lifeguards or additional police special staff,” Brand explained. “This will also just give us that kind of data, too. So if there’s an influx of passes being scanned in different locations, it gives us an idea of where best to utilize our resources.”
Daily passes will now come with color-coded wristbands to prevent them from being reused. While the wristbands do not include printed dates, the wide variety of colors in rotation makes it unlikely that someone could successfully recycle one. Anyone hoping to guess the right color on a different day would face slim odds, according to McNally.
Beach passes will be available for purchase online or in person from May 12 to June 18, at the gazebo outside the Recreation Center on Magnolia Boulevard, on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and weekends from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The gazebo will close after June 18. Beginning May 24, passes will also be sold at the trailer on the corner of Broadway and Laurelton. That location will be open on weekends through June 15 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and then daily from June 19 through Sept. 1—weekdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and weekends from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Passes are required for anyone over 13. Resident passes are $85 for individuals, $115 for families and $30 for seniors and children. Non-resident rates are $170 for individuals, $230 for families and $60 for seniors and children. Daily passes are $12 for residents and $15 for non-residents, with a 25-cent fee for electronic daily passes and a $1 surcharge for seasonal passes.
Daily passes are available at Pacific, Neptune, Long Beach, Riverside, Edwards, National, Laurelton and New York avenues, payable by credit card only.
As the city prepares for the summer season, the focus of the changes is to improve operations, reduce the abuse of taxpayer-funded resources and ensure a more efficient and equitable beach experience for all.
The beach season begins May 24, with passes required on weekends and Memorial Day through June 15, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. From June 19 to Sept. 1, passes will be required daily, on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on weekends and holidays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
For more information, visit longbeachny.gov/beachpassinfo.
