A fight last month in the parking lot of a Clearwater Beach business, coming at the same time as discussions about trimming salary costs in the Clearwater Police Department, has everyone talking about teenagers and cruising again.

As usual, the adults are focusing on ways to corral the kids. The implication is that the teens don't belong in Clearwater Beach, particularly on weekend nights, and that we either must discourage their visits or herd them into one place so the police can keep an eye on them.

Why is it always this way? Generations of Suncoast teens have spent their weekends socializing in Clearwater Beach. There are much worse places where they could spend their time.

But a brawl in the parking lot of McDonald's on July 13 in which one man was stabbed and another shot (some of the brawlers were adults, not teens) upset beach residents and business owners, especially because the Clearwater Police Department, like all other city departments, had been instructed by City Manager Bill Horne to reduce salary costs for next year by 2 percent.

Police Chief Sid Klein responded to Horne's directive by announcing that he was thinking about reducing the number of paid police aides assigned to the beach. Aides are not sworn officers but receive special training, wear uniforms and contribute to the law enforcement presence at the beach.

Klein met with Clearwater Beach officials last week and asked residents to fill the gap by volunteering for a 15-member citizens beach patrol like one that has operated for several years in Sand Key. The volunteers would have no law enforcement powers but would wear uniforms, drive the Police Department's all-terrain vehicles and have radios to summon officers to deal with beachgoers who refused to listen to the patrol volunteers.

Klein had another idea: Raise parking rates significantly in the city's big S Gulfview parking lot, which would force cash-strapped teens to park in the less expensive Pier 60 lot, where fewer police officers would be needed to watch them.

Others have suggested additional changes in beach parking policies, including eliminating on-street parking after a certain hour to discourage teens from parking and congregating on sidewalks near their cars.

Anything the city does to make parking more difficult on the beach will frustrate not just teens but older beachgoers with money to spend at beach businesses. Each time the city has used parking to try to solve the "teen problem," it has created new conflicts, including complaints about noise from hotel owners near Pier 60 and angry calls and letters from tourists who got parking tickets.

It is already difficult for people to figure out when, where and how late they may park in various public spaces in Clearwater Beach because the rules tend to vary. In a tourist area, parking should be easy and convenient, not used as a tool for manipulating crowds or easing the burden on law enforcement.

Furthermore, there is something seriously wrong if a city whose No. 1 industry is tourism cannot provide a sufficient number of paid police officers to patrol its primary tourist area but must call on volunteers to help out. The Sand Key Beach Volunteer Patrol may have done a good job in Sand Key, but that is a different environment from Clearwater Beach, where volunteers are more likely to be challenged and face large crowds. The city manager and city commissioners might need to take a closer look at how money is being spent in the Police Department or consider reordering budget priorities.

Finally, has anyone thought about giving teens something to do other than stand around when they are at the beach on Friday and Saturday nights? They can't go into nightclubs. They can't afford restaurants. Swimming in the gulf is discouraged after dark. What is there for them to do except cruise in circles or stand on the sidewalks watching their friends pass by?

All that sand just west of the parking lots would make great beach volleyball courts with the addition of a few lights and nets. What about keeping the pool at the beach aquatic center open late on weekend nights for teens or providing basketball courts?

Better to be creative than manipulative when looking for ways to make Clearwater Beach a safe and fun destination for all ages.

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