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Restrooms at town beaches to remain open through September

VeteransBeach

The bathrooms at Southold Town’s beaches hadn’t been opened last month and beachgoers desperate for a bathroom break had been taking some extreme measures, Councilwoman Jill Doherty said at Tuesday’s Town Board meeting.

Town officials said the bathrooms weren’t open because lifeguards were not yet on duty for the summer. They are typically only open in July and August, Ms. Doherty said.

“The beaches have been packed,” Ms. Doherty said. “People are using other means to go to the bathroom, including knocking on people’s doors and going places they shouldn’t be.” The Town Board has now decided to keep the restrooms open on Saturdays and Sundays during September. Next year, Ms. Doherty said, the restrooms will also be open in June as well.

The town already has staff who can open the bathrooms in the morning and clean them at night, so the town won’t incur any extra expense to keep them open, Ms. Doherty said.

If the change does cause problems with staff, said Councilman William Ruland, it’ll be easily fixed.

“If it doesn’t work, it just won’t continue,” he said.

Photo Credit: Paul Squire