Signs, tickets relieve congestion at Empire beach

Glen Arbor Sun

In response to parking congestion during the height of summer at Empire’s popular public beach, the Village Council erected signs, laid boulders on either end of the lot and is paying the Leelanau County Sheriff’s Department as much as $10,000 this summer to maintain order and keep the fire lane open for emergency vehicles.



“Our main concern is to keep the fire lane open,” says Village Council board member and chairman of the Parks Committee Lannie Sterling. “The beach is the only way to access (residential) Lake Michigan Drive.”

Sterling added that Fourth of July weekend wasn’t as busy as it has been in past years on account of chillier weather, but he still saw cars parked where they shouldn’t be. One had received a ticket. On the other hand, Sterling also saw cars parked in legal spots around the village — a short walk to the beach. He hopes that more beachgoers will drop their families and friends at the beach and then park in town.

Deputy Tim Tull is the Sheriff’s Department’s officer on duty at Empire beach. He also patrolled last summer, but didn’t issue village ordinance tickets, which typically cost $40, until this year. Tull, a former policeman from the Kalamazoo area who recently relocated to Traverse City, missed police work and contacted the Sheriff’s Department in Lake Leelanau.

The Department currently works with the Village to schedule Tull’s patrol hours. During peak times he works 40 hours per week, though depending on the total number of hours he logs this summer, the Department may not bill the Village the full $10,000.

Tull told the Glen Arbor Sun in mid-July that there have been no problems with parking at the Empire beach. “There have been a few parking tickets, but people come to have a good time and be safe,” Tull says. “The Village has done a good job of painting stripes and ‘No Parking’ on the pavement in the Fire Lanes.”

Between that and his presence on patrol, this has been virtually a problem-free summer so far at the Empire beach.