WMBCTV: Labor Day Rush - Crowds, Traffic and Packed Beaches as Jersey Shore Marks Summer’s Final Weekend

Labor Day is often seen as the unofficial end to summer - and at the Jersey Shore, it's going out with a bang. From beach towns to boardwalks, the rush is on. More and more people are heading to the Shore to make the most of the long weekend and it's not just the tourists who feel the impact. Joe Buck is a Toms River resident who works in North Jersey everyday and he says he notices a heavier volume of travelers on his trips home during this time of year.

“I work in North Jersey so the commute back in the summers is a little rough - it’s maybe double or triple what it normally would be, but aside from that, once I’m home, it’s absolutely incredible,”  said Joe Buck, Toms River Resident. “You see everyone, everyone wants to be there, there’s no sadness when you’re down at the beach. I’ve been doing it for a few years now so I am used to the cyclical commute change but there’s no way around it, it’s terrible. I mean you sit in traffic and it is what it is - you get over it. It makes it worth it. If it wasn’t worth it, no one would be coming.”

And with crowds of that magnitude, you might think the hassle isn't worth it - but for many, Labor Day weekend is the last hoorah before summer slips away. Joe says he gets why the Shore is such a draw this time of year.

“As much as it seems like it’s only the beach and the boardwalk, there’s a lot more especially in the summer. Everything is open,” said Joe Buck, Toms River Resident. “There’s festivals every other weekend. There’s firework shows, music impersonators. There’s everything that you want to do. It brings more business which is incredible for the local economy but it does make everything slightly more inconvenient - you’re going to go get a bagel from the bagel shop and it’s going to be 40 minutes instead of 15. But it’s a give and take because that’s what makes the jersey shore the jersey shore - it’s the people that surround it.”

Whether you're chasing thrills on the rides, catching a sunset over the bay, or grabbing that one last cone of soft-serve, there's no shortage of ways to soak up summer's final weekend. Local businesses are preparing for the spike in foot traffic and police departments across the Shore are urging visitors to plan ahead, stay patient and stay safe.