REHOBOTH BEACH, Del.- Following a meeting Tuesday, Rehoboth Beach's mayor and commissioners agreed to open the city's beach and boardwalk for exercise and dog walking beginning on Friday, May 15, from 6 a.m.- 10 p.m.
"This is what a lot of people come to Rehoboth for, this is the main attraction and then in addition to the beach and the boardwalk are the restaurants and the shops, the playgrounds," Mayor Paul Kuhns said.
Swimming will not be permitted when the beach reopens Friday. Bicycles will have to be off the boardwalk by 10 a.m. The restrooms on Rehoboth, Baltimore and Delaware avenues will be thoroughly cleaned and reopened as well.
"Limited to exercise only, I think that's going to limit some of the visitors and I think the visitors might get here and walk for an hour and turn around get some lunch and then get off," Kuhns said.
"It's dying down here. People aren't coming and everyone needs the business," explained Vicki Buzzard, who works at Dolle's.
Just a few doors down, Tim Gubas of Louie's Pizza shared a similar sentiment.
"The majority of our business normally is carry out, but there's just no people here. If there's no people, there's no business," he told us. Kenneth Sweeney and his wife Dana were in the area for a doctor's appointment. They said they've been making stops at small businesses like Dolle's to support them during this difficult time. "This is the time of year that they have to make their money to hold them over to get them through the next winter. And if we curtail that, how many of these small places are going to close? The rents aren't cheap down here," questioned Sweeny. Others, such as Vicki Green who was out walking her dog, are cautiously optimistic. "We have to have people be smart because I have a feeling that a lot of people don't get the idea of six feet apart and not congregating," she explained.
While visitors are expected to wear face coverings while visiting, the city commissioners questioned why coverings cannot be mandatory and are only a recommendation. But Rehoboth Beach Police Chief Keith Banks said it is hard to enforce this rule.
"Obviously we can do things differently in Rehoboth Beach but right now there's no law if they don't wear them, for us to enforce it," Banks said.
Additionally, parking meters and permits will not go into effect as planned on May 22. That has been pushed back to May 29.
The city also said benches will not be put back just yet because there is no plan right now on how to properly sanitize them after each use.
Rehoboth Beach's decision to reopen the beach and boardwalk follows that of Ocean City, Md., which opened its beach and boardwalk on Saturday, and Dewey Beach, Del., which has opened its beach for exercise and dog walking.
