Ms. Thomas,
As stated in one of your previous e-mails regarding my concern of where the money for beach parking permits is allocated, you responded with, “…the revenue that is generated from beach parking permit sales is for beach maintenance and operations (i.e. grading the beach for and removal of seaweed)…”. For the past two weeks my time spent on the beach, mainly at the end of Zahn Road and a bit north, has been with caution with fear of getting my truck stuck in the sand. While I’m reminded everyday that “BEACH PARKING PERMITS ARE REQUIRED” I’m still failing to see the graded beach that you claim our money is being allocated for. Sure there is room to park close to the water but once the beach becomes crowed the ability to drive up and down the beach pretty much ceases. There was a small opening a bit north, close to the dunes, but that was created by the beach patrons and was nothing more than a couple of tire tracks through the less-soft and less-thick sand.
During my time spent on Padre Island in the past couple of weeks I’ve witnessed no less than two dozen vehicles stuck in the sand and have assisted with a handful of their extractions. I also see trash on the beach, either washed up on shore or left over from sloppy patrons. I understand that your daily operation of trash pick-up begins in the morning and appears to be limited to emptying trashcans along the beach. While this service is greatly appreciated it’s obvious to me that trash along the shoreline, on the sand, and along the dune-line is ignored by your workers. Saturday, August 2nd I was on the beach at night and noticed a cushion, which appeared to have floated in during the storm, along the dunes. I tossed it near one of the trash cans and it was still there, yesterday, August 10th, along the dune-line. The beach was littered with trash from Hurricane Dolly and it appears that instead of picking it up it’s just been piled on top of the existing dunes. Trash is not limited to what’s place in or around trash cans; it’s also on the beach and needs to be picked up as well. It would be nice to see your workers take some pride in their job and not just do the basics; get out, walk the beach, and pick up trash.
I see the “beach permit guys” driving up and down the beach in their trucks and ATVs collecting $12 from everyone w/o a permit yet parts of the beach, included in your jurisdiction, remain non-traversable and littered with trash. It seems the only things I consistently see out on the beach are the beach parking permit workers at every major entrance to the beach and their co-workers on their ATVs.
It makes me, and scores of others, furious to see our money NOT being used in the manner we were told.
Peter Gibbons
As stated in one of your previous e-mails regarding my concern of where the money for beach parking permits is allocated, you responded with, “…the revenue that is generated from beach parking permit sales is for beach maintenance and operations (i.e. grading the beach for and removal of seaweed)…”. For the past two weeks my time spent on the beach, mainly at the end of Zahn Road and a bit north, has been with caution with fear of getting my truck stuck in the sand. While I’m reminded everyday that “BEACH PARKING PERMITS ARE REQUIRED” I’m still failing to see the graded beach that you claim our money is being allocated for. Sure there is room to park close to the water but once the beach becomes crowed the ability to drive up and down the beach pretty much ceases. There was a small opening a bit north, close to the dunes, but that was created by the beach patrons and was nothing more than a couple of tire tracks through the less-soft and less-thick sand.
During my time spent on Padre Island in the past couple of weeks I’ve witnessed no less than two dozen vehicles stuck in the sand and have assisted with a handful of their extractions. I also see trash on the beach, either washed up on shore or left over from sloppy patrons. I understand that your daily operation of trash pick-up begins in the morning and appears to be limited to emptying trashcans along the beach. While this service is greatly appreciated it’s obvious to me that trash along the shoreline, on the sand, and along the dune-line is ignored by your workers. Saturday, August 2nd I was on the beach at night and noticed a cushion, which appeared to have floated in during the storm, along the dunes. I tossed it near one of the trash cans and it was still there, yesterday, August 10th, along the dune-line. The beach was littered with trash from Hurricane Dolly and it appears that instead of picking it up it’s just been piled on top of the existing dunes. Trash is not limited to what’s place in or around trash cans; it’s also on the beach and needs to be picked up as well. It would be nice to see your workers take some pride in their job and not just do the basics; get out, walk the beach, and pick up trash.
I see the “beach permit guys” driving up and down the beach in their trucks and ATVs collecting $12 from everyone w/o a permit yet parts of the beach, included in your jurisdiction, remain non-traversable and littered with trash. It seems the only things I consistently see out on the beach are the beach parking permit workers at every major entrance to the beach and their co-workers on their ATVs.
It makes me, and scores of others, furious to see our money NOT being used in the manner we were told.
Peter Gibbons
