The Beach – The Story

     A short section of the Fort Lauderdale Beach is gone!


          

     In an event that came as quite a surprise, about a 4 block area of the Fort Lauderdale beach was totally overwhelmed by the after-effects of Hurricane Sandy.

      The destruction is about ten blocks north of Sunrise Boulevard.

                
                            removed traffic lights – base is now at edge of ocean 


                
                                           no showers today!

     
     Mayor Jack Seiler and City Manager Lee Feldman say they are working on the problem “around the clock”.
 
     Feldman says we are fortunate that the Florida Department of Transportation declared the area an “emergency”, and the road is a State road, so the short term solutions should be paid for by the State.

            
                           FDOT pow wow today at the beach

     
     Seiler says that other local and State officials are also coming to the aid of Fort Lauderdale. Both beach County Commissioners, Tim Ryan and Chip LaMarca, say they are ready to help, and State Senator Maria Sachs has called Seiler to offer her support.

                                      
                                        Sachs

       Manager Feldman says the massive flooding and destruction just in that area might have to do with the fact that the reef system in that area is “not as elaborate” as the rest of the beach.

     But one thing is for sure. In the area just south of the destruction, where the City and State planted sea oats about ten years ago, the beach weathered the storm well. Here is the sand dune protected beach today- just blocks from the destroyed beach.

        
              Sand dunes protected this part of the beach in front of the State Park

      Planting the sea oats was a controversial move when it came in front of the City Commission about a decade ago, and some area residents fought it hard .
 
     They were worried that the sand dunes that the sea oats create would “ruin the view” of the ocean, so the Commission ( I was on it then), settled for putting the Sea Oats only in the portion of the beach in front of the Hugh Taylor Birch State Park.  

     Ironically, one of the leaders of the sea oat opposition back then was no other than beach resident and infamous City Hall grumbler Art Seitz, who has been taking some amazing pictures of the beach destruction and was out there again today. 

     I took his picture as he was taking mine!


                          

     Art says he still stands by his position that the sea oats shouldn’t be planted when the beach is replenished.