As the summer beach season approaches, the Beach and Recreation Department has announced several changes, including fees, facility upgrades, and parking access.

Beach and Recreation Director Austin Hall says beach passes have been selling quickly and urged residents to purchase their passes as soon as possible. For the 2023 season, the cost of a beach pass has remained flat from the previous season. A residential pass is $40 for one car and $20 for a second car. Seniors will pay $10; Veterans will pay $10 for the first car and $20 for a second car. A resident guest pass is $10 per car.

Weekend parking passes will be required to park at all town beaches as of Saturday, May 27. Parking passes will be required daily starting on June 19.

Parking passes are currently on sale at both the Surf Club office and at www.madisonct.org. On Friday, June 30, parking passes will only be available for sale at the Madison Chamber of Commerce until noon, and passes will go on sale again on July 5.

“The past couple of years, we stopped selling all beach passes for the weekend the Friday before the fourth. So on Friday, June 30, we will sell beach passes only until noon at the Chamber of Commerce only. As of noon, if you don’t have a pass, you will not be able to purchase one again until Wednesday, July 5, in person. But if you are a Madison resident, you can purchase a pass online and bring your receipt, and we will let you in that way,” Hall said. “If you do not have a parking pass, you will not be able to access Surf Club Road that Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday.”

Hall said there will also be several improvements to the surrounding beach infrastructure and several playgrounds and sports sites.

“We are replacing the Surf Club playground, and that will happen prior to May 1. We will send out notices and make everyone well aware of the schedule,” Hall said. “The playground will be closed for a few days during the demolition and construction of the new playground.”

Hall said the Academy playground will also see improvements.

“In the next week or so, we are replacing the surface at Academy playground. Right now, it’s woodchips, and we’ll be replacing that with rubber mulch. So, regardless of what happens to [the] Academy playground, if it needs to be moved, relocated, reoriented due to the Academy project, we can always reuse this mulch. Pick it up, store it, and place it back in if that indeed should become an issue. This will take a couple of days, and once we know the delivery is here, we will let everybody know that Academy playground will be closed for a couple of days and that we will reopen immediately afterward.”

The bathrooms at West Wharf will be open in time for Memorial Day, Hall said, and the Surf Club will also have extensive power washing of the building, which is being donated by a local contractor.

“The Surf Club will be power washed, and we need to give a shout-out to Oland & Sons Painting, who are donating their services. So we really want to thank them. That will occur in the next couple of weeks as well,” Hall said. “We have also replaced a portion of the walkway out at East Wharf walkway. The guys in our deportment were able to replace that, and if you’re in the area, check it out; it looks really good.”

Away from the beaches, other projects include repairing the Town Campus tennis courts and the pending opening of the Salt Meadow Dog Park. According to Hall, the courts will be shut for approximately a week once the project gets underway, and the dog park should be open in a week or so.

“The Salt Meadow Dog Park fence will be installed the week of April 17, and we’ll have a grand opening in May at a date to be determined. We’ve got everything in, all the products are in, all the signage, all the pet waste disposal stations and bags are in. Once the fence gets installed, we should be able to do a soft opening and then have a big grand opening where we invite some folks and make it a special day for everyone who waited so long for this park to open.”