Sand Blowing on Ocean Way

For those of you who do not familiar with this issue, the sand blowing on ocean way has been a long concern to the businesses and residents of the area. The city spends an enormous amount of dollars removing the sand and replenishing the beach each year. There are numerous options we can look at to resolve this issue.

Dune Vegetation - The positives with this option are that it is a natural option and is proven to work. The negatives include: if we mistakenly choose the incorrect vegetation we would not have the ability to reduce the size of the dunes as they grow, because they would be providing a sanctuary for animals. If we choose the correct vegetation, we could control the height of the respective dunes, but it would have an altering affect on our beach's landscape. After 15 - 20 years the large dunes created would block the view of the ocean from Ocean Way. One of the things that make our beach so appealing is the "curbside appeal", so I'm not 100% sold on this option.

Build a Wall - This option is expensive and the upkeep would also add to the expense. In the short term the wall solves the issue, but after the sand reaches the wall height the wall actually acts like a ramp and will cause more beach erosion then no wall at all. Fort Lauderdale is stuck with their wall as it is now an intricate part of their beaches' identity, but the wall has not resolved their beach erosion issue and its upkeep has added to Fort Lauderdale's Beach erosion expenses.

Do Nothing - This is an option, but I do not like ignoring a problem and the costs to put the displaced sand back continues to rise.

At this point I'm in favor of continuing to research alternatives and see what the Coastal & Waterway Divisions report discovers.