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Refilling the sandbox
Park Shore Beach renourishment stalled by storms
18 October 2024
Trucks were to begin hauling about 160,000 tons of soft, white sand to Naples’ Park Shore Beach in November as part of the county’s beach renourishment program. But the same weather that made the project necessary has delayed it. The latest blow came from Hurricane Milton on Oct. 9 and 10, which caused about 6 feet of storm surge in the city of Naples, with high tides pushing sand off beaches. It dumped 5 feet onto beach ends and left some roads covered in up to 4 feet of sand. Due to the hurricanes that have sideswiped the area, Connie Deane, a county public information coordinator, said the Park Shore project “will probably start in December or January.” No date has been set, however. The 1.25-mile beach, which extends from just north of Harbour Drive to Seagate Drive in the city of Naples, had been in need of renourishment from the effects of Hurricane Ian Sept. 28, 2022. Then it was hit by two passing hurricanes — Helene Sept. 26-27, two weeks before Milton — causing significant sand loss, said Park Shore Association President Michelle McLeod. “It was already needed before that — and now it’s (the beach) lost even more,” she added. Milton also pushed sand into a 2.7-acre private beachfront park accessible only to Park Shore residents and which their homeowner association maintains. Park Shore was still working to recover from Hurricane Helene. “A tremendous amount of sand was driven by storm surge onto the park, in some areas as much as 2 feet deep,” McLeod said of the private park. The county has a plan for the placement of the sand, McLeod said, adding, “I’m just not sure if it will be the solution to stop the sand from hammering the beach park after each hurricane.” The Board of County Commissioners on Sept. 24 unanimously approved spending $7.5 million, including $1.84 million to purchase about 112,000 cubic yards of sand from Stewart Materials in Immokalee and $4.5 million to transport, distribute and place the sand on the beach. The fee also covers various associated costs, including construction, mobilizing trucks, traffic maintenance, shorebird and water monitoring, surveys, testing and contingency costs. Once the project is rescheduled, sand will be hauled and distributed along the 85-footwide beach Mondays through Saturdays, from sunrise to sunset, about 4,500 tons daily. County Sheriff’s deputies and Naples Police will work to keep streets safe as trucks haul tons of sand along roadways to staging areas, and county and Naples City officials will publicize the truck routes to residents and biking groups before the hauling begins. Commissioners also approved the county’s state Department of Environmental Protection long-range budget plan request for fiscal year 2025-26 beach re-nourishment projects to maintain the county’s eligibility for future state cost-share funding. The Tourist Development Council and Coastal Advisory Committee unanimously recommended approval because white beaches bring visitors. The funds come from a 5% bed ta...