A desire to increase accessibility to Philbin Beach prompted Aquinnah town officials last week to debate the merits of expanding the nearby beach parking lot.
While the members of the select board agreed that there was a need to make it easier for residents to access the south-facing town-owned beach, particularly for older beachgoers, the board was split on the need to increase the size of the lot.
The Philbin lot offers about 20 parking spaces for vehicles, and an expansion could require work next to the neighboring wetlands.
“There’s a significant amount of wetlands that are there,” said Jeffrey Madison, the town administrator, at the August 4 meeting. “So, there’s a question of how do we expand the parking to take care of the people who come here during the summer specifically to use the beach.”
Members of the select board discussed the possibility of increasing the size of the lot by 10 to 15 spaces.
“We can probably add 10 or 15 cars to the lot there if we fill it in at a very small level,” said Mr. Madison “We could probably increase the lot to 35 spots.”
Altering, or even building upon, wetland habitats should not be taken lightly, said Juli Vanderhoop, a select board member. She suggested alternate methods of transportation to the beach, such as shuttles or even golf cars from the parking lot at the cliffs to avoid destroying parts of an already delicate habitat.
“I’m never going to want to change that lot to be larger, because we have other lots that will suffice that are close by,” Ms. Vanderhoop said.
According to Mr. Madison, the town sold approximately 460 beach passes this year to both residents and renters alike. He also noted that there have not been additions or improvements made to the lot at Philbin Beach since the land was given to the town 50 years ago.
Between seasonal residents and renters it can be difficult for the town to determine how many of those passes are actively being used, said Ms. Vanderhoop.
“Yes, we’ve sold those passes, but those people are gone, and other people are coming in to buy passes and take their spot,” she said. “When we say 460 have sold, how many passes have actually sold and are in our community to use the spot? Right. We can’t calculate that.”
Members of the board did not make a decision on the future of the lot, and instead decided to continue discussing the options moving forward.
“We clearly have different opinions and need to have a meeting to decide what the town is going to do,” said Tom Murphy, the select board chair. “But there’s no question that we need to service the 460 people who purchased parking permits and if we can’t, we’ve got to figure something out.”
The other option considered by the board was to increase the number of bike racks available at the Philbin Beach lot.
Additionally, Philbin Beach has struggled to maintain attendants working at the beach to ensure that the cars parked at the lot have the appropriate access pass.
“We offered the job two years ago at $15 an hour and got no applicants,” said Mr. Murphy. “We offered it at $20 an hour and got no applicants. At $25 an hour, we finally got a couple of applicants, and it’s been difficult. The applicants that we did get are not showing up. So, it’s a real challenge.”
This article appears in August 14, 2026.
Open it all to the public
I Agree with Ms. Vanderhoop. Do not expand the parking lot for a few gas combustion engines.Let the wetlands breath and thrive. There are others options less harmful to an already delicate environment.
This has been extremely frustrating for residents and renters and needs to be addressed as soon as possible. Perhaps a quick fix might be setting aside 10-20 parking spots in the town beach parking lot for residents & renters with a pass.
Can’t folks with Philbin parking permits park at the town lot for free if the Philbin lot is full? I thought so but not 100% certain.
Philbin Beach is one of the most beautiful beaches in the world and a big reason why people build houses in Aquinnah and tourists bring life and money to the town each summer. Recent improvements in the access, such as the boardwalk and the sand carpet, have made the beach experience safer and more enjoyable. Parking, however, is a horror show.
The town sells 460 permits for about 20 spaces. On any sunny summer day, the lot is completely full by midday. Often lines of cars are waiting for someone to leave. I have seen kids cry in disappointment. Desperate parents often squeeze their cars into the lot, blocking pathways and other cars. Weekends are the worst.
I value the wetlands that separate the lot from the shore. They filter water and support wildlife. They deserve careful protection. Expanding by 20 spaces would require only about the footprint of a tennis court, roughly 6,000 square feet. With proper design, erosion controls, and any required mitigation, this limited conversion of fringe wetland would not meaningfully impair the larger wetland system’s functions.
Tourism and seasonal rentals sustain Aquinnah’s economy and the value of real estate. Making Philbin safely and reliably usable for the people who hold permits strengthens that foundation. A carefully limited expansion is a practical compromise that meets real demand while treating the wetlands with respect.
I urge the council to approve a modest expansion with strict environmental conditions.
Thank you Michael. This seems like a reasonable approach.
I was just in the parking lot and counted approximately 45 cars parked. It’s not 20 spaces. Time for a proper survey.
I think Michael makes a reasonable case that there is a parking problem, but he loses me when he assures us that filling roughly 6,000 square feet of wetland “would not meaningfully impair” the larger wetland system. How could he possibly know that? Isn’t that exactly what an environmental review, not a commenter, is supposed to determine?
I would much rather see the town exhaust the alternatives before permanently altering any wetland. There is already parking at the Cliffs nearby, and the idea of a shuttle or golf-cart system certainly seems worth exploring.
The 460 permits also need some perspective. Selling 460 permits tells us very little about how many people actually need a parking space at the same time, something Ms. Vanderhoop herself questioned at the meeting. And we’re being told the Philbin lot holds about 20 cars, while another commenter says he counted approximately 45 there today.
Before filling wetlands to create more parking, I think the town should determine the actual capacity of the lot, document how often demand actually exceeds it, and determine precisely what environmental consequences an expansion would have.
We shouldn’t hastily decide that disturbing a wetland is environmentally insignificant first and ask the experts to confirm it afterward.
Paving paradise for a parking lot will cause irreparable harm and set a dangerous precedent. Use a shuttle.
I’ve been a seasonal renter in Aquinnah for 10+ years, coming to the island for almost 30. I acknowledge my perspective might be different from full time residents here.
From the time I started coming to the island – when we stayed in West Tisbury – it’s known that if you want a parking spot at the beach, get up and moving early. It’s a very “first world” problem to have. Going to long point beach – whose parking lot is massive compared to philbin – even that gets full by around 1pm. So we just get going early!! Here in Aquinnah, on the rare occasion it’s too late, we cycle or walk, or someone drops people off. It’s the vineyard; we shouldn’t expect that we are entitled to park when we want, where we want. If the trade off for “convenience” is preserving the natural beauty and ecosystem that has existed since the beginning of time, my vote is the latter. If the concern is older residents, which is absolutely important, make a few more spots handicapped.
As a sidenote, this week we have regularly gotten to philbin at 12pm and the lot has been almost empty with about 10 cars in it. Even at peak on saturday, there’s been room. Also, I second someone’s comment above that the lot is much bigger than 20 cars as it is. If it expands to add 10-15 more spots, I think this problem will still exist but with more cars and people. (see above re: long point)
Fiona — Thanks for adding some sanity to this comment section. There is an occasional capacity issue between 1-3pm a few weeks out of the peak summer months. That issue is solved by showing up a bit earlier or getting creative with drop off/bicycle. In my 10+ years of Philbin Beach summers it has never been a real issue. We are quite spoiled with Philbin Beach… destroying wetlands and spending $$ seems like quite an overreaction to a minor/occasional inconvenience.