WTNH News Channel 8 / News / 1999

	State pinpoints public access spots on shoreline (Hartford-AP) _ There are at least 262 places where all Connecticut residents can access the state's largely private shoreline, according to a new map being released today by the state Department of Environmental Protection. The Connecticut Coastal Access Guide covers 460 miles of shoreline, including the lower reaches of tidal rivers. It includes sites on the Connecticut River as far upriver as Chester and East Haddam. The state identified about 700 publicly owned sites but included only 262 on the map because others had inadequate parking or safety or legal concerns, said David J. Kozak, a coastal environmental planner with the state Department of Environmental Protection who directed the project over the past four years. The sites themselves are being marked with 320 new 18- by 18-inch brown-and-white signs that read: "Long Island Sound Access" or "Shoreline Public Access." The guide includes well-known destinations such as Hammonasset Beach State Park in Madison. But it also points out hidden gems including small public beaches in Milford and East Lyme, fishing access points in Westport and a boat launch in Mystic. Groton, in southeastern Connecticut, has the greatest number of sites, 29, followed by Westport, in southwestern Connecticut, with 28. Copies of the map can be obtained by contacting the DEP's Office of Long Island Sound Programs. Today's News Page. WTNH Home Page. ©1999 WTNH/WTNH-DT A LIN station.

State pinpoints public access spots on shoreline
(Hartford-AP) _ There are at least 262 places where all Connecticut residents can access the state's largely private shoreline, according to a new map being released today by the state Department of Environmental Protection.

The Connecticut Coastal Access Guide covers 460 miles of shoreline, including the lower reaches of tidal rivers. It includes sites on the Connecticut River as far upriver as Chester and East Haddam.

The state identified about 700 publicly owned sites but included only 262 on the map because others had inadequate parking or safety or legal concerns, said David J. Kozak, a coastal environmental planner with the state Department of Environmental Protection who directed the project over the past four years.

The sites themselves are being marked with 320 new 18- by 18-inch brown-and-white signs that read: "Long Island Sound Access" or "Shoreline Public Access."

The guide includes well-known destinations such as Hammonasset Beach State Park in Madison. But it also points out hidden gems including small public beaches in Milford and East Lyme, fishing access points in Westport and a boat launch in Mystic.

Groton, in southeastern Connecticut, has the greatest number of sites, 29, followed by Westport, in southwestern Connecticut, with 28.

Copies of the map can be obtained by contacting the DEP's Office of Long Island Sound Programs.

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