Last week, Alan Sorrentino called the town council's decision to open Barrington Beach to non-residents a "disaster that will overwhelm our facility and degrade the quality of our little beach."

This week, Mark Etheridge is defending the council's move.

Mr. Etheridge owns Trendy's Pizzeria on Maple Avenue and operates a lunch cart at the town beach during the summer months. A few weeks ago, Mr. Etheridge told the town council that they would be wise to open the beach to non-residents, that out-of-towners were already using the beach before the attendants came on duty at 9 a.m. and after lifeguards went home for the day at 5 p.m.

"It's already happening," he said during an interview last week. "You come down to the beach after 5 most nights and it's packed."

Mr. Etheridge said the council was wise to open the beach to non-residents, allowing for an additional revenue source for a beach that is gaining in popularity. He said people should remember that beach has always been open to all people — it's the parking that had been designated resident-only.

Mr. Etheridge, who grew up in town, had his full-service lunch cart at the beach last summer. He said some days during the week could be pretty slow, while weekend days could be quite busy. He said he could remember just a handful of days last year where the beach attendants were forced to open up the overflow parking area to accommodate for heavy car traffic. 

He said he is hopeful the beach will be used even more this summer.

With increased traffic at the beach, Mr. Etheridge could stand to make more money selling his pizza slices, cheeseburgers, sandwiches, clamcakes and French fries. But the veteran restaurant owner say his decision to support non-residents parking at the town beach was not about him turning a bigger profit.

He said he was thinking about the town generating more revenue.

Mr. Sorrentino does not share Mr. Etheridge's point of view. The local man said the council erred in its decision and would have been wiser to keep beach parking for residents only. He said the council's move may negatively impact local taxpayers, whose dollars have paid to keep the beach clean and lifeguards on duty.

"Once the word gets out on social media the beach will be full to capacity some days before 10 a.m., just like every other beach in R.I. on hot summer days," wrote Mr. Sorrentino in a recent letter to the editor. "Many who will be shutting out the tax-paying residents of Barrington won't be residents themselves. There will be carloads of teenagers, families, and adults from neighboring city and towns easily taking the 15 minute drive, flocking to the closest beach to them in R.I. and why not. The only alternative would be to buy the gas and drive for hours in the beach traffic to the south coast."

Mr. Etheridge stands by the council's decision and added that if the new approach does not work out, the council could always change the beach parking back to residents only.

Mr. Sorrentino's response: "Barrington Town Beach belongs to the tax-paying residents of Barrington whose tax dollars built and maintain this truly exceptional facility and whose loving care and dedication faithfully preserves it as the exceptional natural wonder that it is."

How much it costs

There are a variety of payment options when using Barrington Town Beach.

• Resident season pass: $30

• Resident day pass: $5

• Non-resident day pass: $10

• Resident senior citizen pass: Free

• Additional resident season pass stickers: $30

(The town does not offer a discount for residents with multiple vehicles. Each beach pass sticker is $30.)