Park Ranger Gery Moran puts out barricades after sunset to close off a portion of the parking lot at the Boynton Inlet. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star
By Margie Plunkett
Ocean Inlet Park has gotten a new tenant — and its parking lot is being closed off from dusk to dawn in response to increasing concerns about crime there.
A Palm Beach County Parks employee is now housed at an apartment at the Inlet park, and barricades are being put in place each evening to close off the parking lot, according to Ocean Ridge Police Chief Chris Yannuzzi.
Permanent gates will be installed at the park for the routine nightly closure, he said.
The Ocean Ridge Police Department met with county parks personnel, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office and Manalapan officials Nov. 29 to discuss crime and loitering at the park. The meeting was in response to a letter sent to the county parks department by Manalapan Police Chief Carmen Mattox, according to Yannuzzi.
“The joint effort is an excellent example of the cooperation that exists among these government entities,” Yannuzzi wrote in his town’s newsletter.
Even while the parking lot is closed at night, there is still access for fishing and the marina all day and night, he said.
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