Long Beach, MnDOT erect ‘no parking’ signs; added police presence to stop pedestrians from walking to Bottle Bay

By Tim Douglass

tdouglass@pctribune.com

In an effort to stop vehicles from parking and dropping off individuals who then walk to “Bottle Bay” on Lake Minnewaska during the month of July, the City of Long Beach established a no parking order for June 26 through the month of July along North Ridge Drive from Highway 28 including the Morning Glory Garden area back to Highway 28.  No parking signs were also installed along Pelican Lake Road from Highway 28 to the intersection with North  Pelican Road. The city installed the signs on June 26. 

The signs state that there is no parking on either side of the street and violators will be towed at their own expense.  By city ordinance, there is also an order that vehicles cannot stop and drop of individuals who then walk to the lake.  

According to Long Beach Mayor Mike Pfeiffer, the Long Beach City Council realizes that a “no stopping” order in the city is difficult to enforce, but the city’s ordinance allowed it to issue the no stopping area.  The city hopes that it will convey to the public that dropping individuals to walk to Bottle Bay from city streets is not allowed,” he said.   

There will also be extra police patrols in the area, especially during the July 4th weekend and during Glenwood’s Waterama, which is the last full weekend in July.  The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) will post “no parking signs” along both sides of Highway 28 from the Minnewaska Area Schools area all the way to North Lakeshore Drive. There will also be electronic signs notifying motorists of the parking ban, it was stated this week.  

The idea, according to Pfeiffer, is to limit access to the lake from city streets and Highway 28 so that only those arriving by boat or pontoon can access the area known as Bottle Bay.

The no parking and no stopping orders came about after area law enforcement, EMS personnel, county commissioners, MnDOT officials, Minnesota State Patrol officers, DNR conservation officers and Long Beach residents attended a special meeting of the Long Beach City Council in April to discuss improving the public safety during what has become an “unofficial lake event” that has attracted a large flotilla and thousands to Bottle Bay on Lake Minnewaska in July each year.

The flotilla, with hundreds of boats and pontoons anchored closely together in the area, has been an attraction for many years, but last year it grew significantly in size, it was stated at the April meeting.  The flotilla on the lake also attracts a lot of people who park on both sides of N. Ridge Drive, the street that runs behind Minnewaska House Brewing Co. + Grill to Morning Glory Gardens and out to Highway 28.  Those without boats park on that road and others in the area and walk to the lake, joining hundreds of waders who stand in the shallow, sandy water that is a feature of that area of the lake.

As a result of that meeting the city committed to doing what it must do to address public safety issues caused by the event.  The events at Bottle Bay on the lake has caused safety issues, near drownings and minor consumption as well as dangerous traffic congestion on Highway 28/29, parking issues, pedestrians crossing the highway and walking along the shoulder of the highway.  In addition, the event causes a lot of litter, noise and other nuisance issues for residents who live in that area.

Safety was the main reason for the city’s action, it was stated at the meeting.  

Another concern, Pfeiffer added, was that there was no way to get a fire truck or emergency vehicles to the residences along that road with the parking congestion.  

“We’re to the point that we want to say if your going to use Bottle Bay, do it by boat only,” Pfeiffer said recently.  

Pope County Chief Deputy Nathan Brecht said at the April meeting that his department has had a number of conversations with the state patrol and the DNR about the bottle bay events during July. “The biggest concern we have is public safety,” he said.  “With the parking bans we can decrease the danger along the highway.  But our biggest concern today is what’s happening on the lake,” he added.  “I’ll be honest with you, it’s hard to get in those groups with a propeller…it’s nearly impossible.”  

He said the department last year used a jet ski for patrol and will do so again in 2023.   The Department of Natural Resources also has officers who will have two boats on patrol and a jet ski that will help with the police presence in the area during July and especially during Waterama.

“We’re going to do our best, and the DNR will be out there too and we’ll have a good presence,” Brecht said at the April meeting, “and hopefully the kids will see us and not drink as much as in the past.”