We have two choices: Control the crowds at SLO County beaches or shut them down

Yes, it was hot last weekend, and if forecasts are correct, we’re in for more warm weather this week.

Still, that’s no excuse to forget social distancing rules. We’re in a pandemic — though you wouldn’t know it based on how packed some local beaches were last weekend.

It’s not entirely the fault of beachgoers: As long as beach communities allow access, people are going to take advantage of that, and it isn’t just locals. Tourists are coming to SLO County from as far away as the San Joaquin Valley and Los Angeles.

Pismo Beach is especially popular; many Valley residents own second homes there and have been visiting for decades.

The city of Pismo has closed the pier and restricted parking to discourage crowds. But it does allow people to spend the day at the beach sunbathing, playing in the waves and getting takeout from local restaurants. In other words, doing all the things we did before the coronavirus upended our lives.

At nearby Avila Beach, though, the Port San Luis Harbor District will have none of that. The district allows people to take short walks on the beach, but they can’t spread out their blankets and umbrellas and sand pails and settle in for the day. The Port took that hard line because people weren’t following social distancing rules.

That may have had consequences for Pismo; it might have been more crowded over the weekend because people who might normally go to Avila converged on Pismo instead.

We don’t know that for sure, but it is an argument for having uniform rules for beaches throughout the county.

Here are the choices: Open the beaches and step up enforcement of social distancing; close them altogether; or limit them to activities like walking, jogging and surfing — no beach blankets or “loitering” allowed.

Another idea: Open beaches to a range of activities on weekdays only, when there will likely be fewer tourists, and allow only limited use on weekends.

Do something, because as we approach summer, the current “patchwork” system is only going to create more problems.

Some beaches will be so overwhelmed that social distancing will be impossible, not so much on the beach itself, but on downtown sidewalks and walkways where people wait in line to order takeout or use restrooms.

Closing streets to vehicles to allow pedestrians more room for social distancing could help. And absolutely require restaurants to use circles, lines or some other mark to indicate how far apart people should stand when they’re waiting for takeout.

Allowing crowds to congregate is just asking for a surge of COVID-19 cases.

And it’s not just Pismo we’re talking about. North Coast beaches are experiencing problems, too.

In a letter to the editor, former County Supervisor Shirley Bianchi said Cambria was overrun last weekend:

“Tourists inundated Cambria, ignoring all of our safety precautions — no masks, gloves or social distancing. Groups on the beaches, hiking trails, in the grocery stores, and wherever they could find a nook and cranny to get into to recreate.

“Cambrians have been particularly careful about safety precautions because we are, after all, a retirement community. Now that the weather is better, these weekend inundations really must either stop, or the tourists be forced to accept safety precautions.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom also had some harsh words for beach “inundations.”

“The only thing that will set us back is people stopping to practice physical distancing and appropriate social distancing,” he said during his daily briefing on Monday. “That’s the only thing that’s going to slow down our ability to reopen this economy.”