To the editor:

In regards to Jim McGaw’s article, “What to do about Bad Beach Behavior”, I’d like to say it is not just a problem for Tiverton and Portsmouth residents. It is a problem on Old Ferry Road, which runs down under the Mt. Hope Bridge in Bristol.

It is also a popular spot for anglers and their families who have no regards for the area. I walk this road almost every day for exercise and have been blaming RWU students for the litter, but after three years it has become apparent that the students are not the problem. After school ends in the spring the fisherman take over and the place becomes a literal pigsty with empty food containers, tangled fishing line with hooks, all sorts of trash and, yes, even human feces. Both on the accessible beach and on the road itself.

I have noted that many if not most of the cars are from out of state and mostly Massachusetts, with more than half parked illegally on both sides of the road. Some cars have elderly family members sleeping in their cars all day while the rest of their families fish. During mid summer on the weekends some will actually camp on a small vacant parcel near the end of the road, adjacent to the Roger Williams University dorms for entire weekends. There are no trash barrels or trash pick up and the visitors leave copious amounts of all sorts of nasty, smelly trash. There are half broken chairs and small tables that they bring with them but never seem to take home. In my opinion it is disgusting and ruining what could be a lovely area.

Initially I felt compassion as no doubt many of these folks are poor and city dwellers who are getting to experience something that they don't have in their own towns. But over time I have lost my compassion for them as they have no regard for what could be an exceptional place with wonderful views. The Town of Bristol needs to do something as well.

Greg Anthony
17 Fish Hawk Lane