GALVESTON, Texas — You can expect another busy weekend down in Galveston as thousands flock to the beach.
The city of Galveston is making some changes ahead of the big crowds that are expected.
Those changes include closing off some beach access points.
The city closed access points at Sunny Beach, Hershey Beach, 13 Mile Road, 16 Mile Road and Salt Cedar to all cars on Friday morning. They'll remain closed through Sunday night at 9.
The city said it’s a way to control the traffic and ensure social distancing.
For instance, the water is a little choppier than one would like.
But for Elaine Moreno and her family, it’s just right.
“I think we’re just going to enjoy the sun. We’re happy with whatever we get,” Elaine said.
They came out here from Houston for some peace and quiet but initially found the opposite.
Debra Moreno said, “We thought we’d rent a house here and have our own little private beach and not have a ton of people everywhere. Well, we showed up yesterday and this beach was wall-to-wall people everywhere.”
So, they were unsure about hanging out on the beach.
“It’s difficult to go to places and see people not take this seriously just because it hits close to home and I also have an infant obviously,” Elaine said.
Debra added, “This morning we saw a bunch of cars coming back and forth and we saw them put up this barrier so it was awesome because we were like, 'OK this is what we wanted right. We could go out, be by ourselves, not have to worry about being exposed to a bunch of people.'”
The Morenos believe if the city hadn’t taken action this, stretch of beach would be packed right now. But because city officials have, they get some fresh air and peace of mind.
“We’ve been hanging out inside for the past couple of months so now we’re just going to have some fun outside,” Elaine said.
Galveston police and the Island Beach patrol will continue to enforce social distancing.
The city said by closing these access points, officials can focus more on managing crowds.
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