Playa del Carmen’s mayor has announced that the city plans to open 35 beach access routes, allowing more people to enjoy the Caribbean coastline.
Laura Beristain Navarrete, who was elected in 2018, says that new access will allow for more recreational space and respects the rights of citizens to freely enjoy Playa’s beaches. She added that the Solidaridad City Council is working with the support of the General Directorate of the Federal Maritime Terrestrial Zone to “guarantee free access and ensure that everyone be able to enjoy the beaches on equal terms.”
Playa’s beaches are visited by millions of national and international tourists every year. However, problems related to poor infrastructure development planning in the coastal zone have continued to affect public beach access. This welcome news comes after this past weekend’s large, picnic-style protest that took place at Mamita’s Beach Club. Locals occupied the beach area normally reserved for paying customers, in response to the aggressive removal of two tourists by local police for non-consumption. The encroachment of the public beach area has been a contentious issue by hotel and beach clubs for some time, so this is welcome news for many.
Beristain says that the 35 public beach access areas will mostly be in Puerto Aventuras, with the remainder in Playa del Carmen. This is in addition to the many existing openings that lead to the beach from the city’s east-west streets. This makes Playa unique in comparison to Cancun or Akumal, and is one of the big reasons that locals enjoy living here in comparison to neighboring cities in the Riviera Maya.
