Clinton, Connecticut, Wants to Study Increasing Access to Sound; Neighbors Object

The problem with increasing public access to Long Island Sound is that everyone is in favor of it except the people who live near new public access locations.

In Clinton, Connecticut, the town is studying whether some narrow strips of land can be used by the public to reach not the beach (because it's privately owned) but the water below the mean high tide mark (which we all own). Neighbors are incensed, according to the New Haven Register, and apparently would prefer it if the study went no further.

I've been to Clinton but I don't know the specific area. But public access doesn't necessarily mean a new Hammonasset or even a new town beach. In this case particularly the road that leads to these strips of land is apparently not conducive to lots of traffic, which would keep the crowds down; and I wonder how many people are going to flock to the shore so they can use the beach below the high tide line anyway. Some fishermen, beachcombers, an occasional birdwatcher maybe. But not many more, I would guess. And small areas of public access can do a lot of good.