As summer quickly approaches, Californians can rest easy knowing they have a streamlined method to attend the state’s parks and beaches. If you’re a resident of Long Beach, all you need to do is get in line—virtually, that is.
As part of a three-year pilot program, and a partnership between California State Parks and the California State Library, the City of Long Beach joined the rest of the state’s public libraries this April in receiving a day-use vehicle entry pass to “over 200 participating state park and beach locations,” according to a statement from the City.
The 12 library branches in the city received a total of 13 passes on April 23, as part of the first phase in the three-year pilot program.
“We don’t have all of them yet,” said Susan Jones, manager of Main Library Services. “By the end of May, each outlet will have three passes each.”
The program, Jones explained, aims to remove any obstacles, financial or geographical, that may hinder families or young people from exploring the places California has to offer. Library patrons need only request a park pass through the online catalog, then wait for their branch to receive a pass.
“It reduces barriers, if you can’t pay that parking fee. Here [at the Billie Jean King Library], we validate parking but if you go over the 30 minutes there’s a $2 charge. Even that $2, that’s something some people can’t afford,” Jones said. “This is a great opportunity for families to be like, ‘Let’s go do something we wouldn’t have done before, let’s explore, get out of the house and break that cycle.’”
Although branches in Long Beach received the passes less than a week ago, the waitlist to check out a pass for the allotted seven days is already at 61 people, according to Jones.
“We’re finding that people aren’t keeping them for the full seven days,” Jones said, explaining that the city is set to receive 23 more passes by the end of May, resulting in “a quicker turnaround.”
The passes are available to anyone who owns a public library card and doesn’t have any overdue fees. They can be checked out for a total of seven days, and grants access to one vehicle, with nine people or less, entering a California state park or beach.
To further reduce the hassle of reserving a park pass, residents can request a pass be dropped off to the library location that is closest to them once it becomes available, similar to requesting books, magazines or media, Jones explained.
“With summer just around the corner, it’s wonderful that our library system is working to help eliminate barriers to accessing our state parks and beaches so that our residents can enjoy California’s amazing open spaces,” Mayor Robert Garcia said in a statement.
The California State Library has created a map featuring library locations offering park passes, as well as California parks entry points.
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