Gary Closing All Beaches For Next 2 Weeks
GARY, Ind. (CBS) -- All beaches in Gary, Indiana will be closed for the next two weeks, the city announced Tuesday.
Effective Wednesday, Gary Mayor Jerome Prince announced all City of Gary beaches will be closed, along with their parking lots, Marquette Park shelters, and adjacent parking there.
Marquette Park will remain open for recreational activity such as walking and cycling pursuant to social distancing requirements. All other Gary city parks will remain open.
"Understanding that beach goers from our community and the Chicagoland area have had fewer outdoor venues for exercise and to enjoy the weather because of the pandemic, last week, my team and I introduced an experimental plan to keep our beaches open to the public while promoting social distancing techniques as we continue to fight the spread of the COVID-19 virus," Mayor Prince said in a news release. "City of Gary Health Commissioner Dr. Roland Walker has recommended we temporarily close our beaches to effectively control the inundation of our parks by residents and visitors. We continue to see almost daily double-digit increases in our new COVID-19 positive cases in Gary. We also must ease the logistical strains on our public safety teams and our beach neighborhoods. I agree with Dr. Walker. We must move beyond the experimental plan, as unfortunate as it may be."
Gary police officers will patrol the full length of the Lake Michigan shoreline there, and will evict anyone seen on the beaches, the mayor said.
The situation will be assessed over the next two weeks.