Beaches & Summer

Well, Memorial Day approaches and with it the unofficial start of the summer season.

A recent conversation with those in the know reports that much of our city beaches were lost to the North Atlantic in last week's Nor'easter. Anyone who has been down to the beach lately can see that Long Branch's shoreline is a sad remenant of its former self. It also reminds us at the LBA of the Long Branch beaches of the 1980s and early '90s--pre-beach replenishment.

The LBA has been a realistic voice in the world of beach replenishment. Federal money is warranted for beach replenishment as a means of mitigating the damage done during coastal storms. Unlike many of our fellow citizens from the midwest who may feel that it is nothing more than pork for rich beachfront landowners, the LBA knows that without that sand in place to take the brunt of the storm's fury, the shore line would be significantly further west than it is now. I guess our midwestern naysayers should just consider beach replenishment the Ethanol of the Jersey Shore--a useless waste of money to everyone except those who directly benefit from it.

It looks like the beaches around Pier Village are servicable, and the LBA did see some heavy equipment out there trying to build it up to extent possible but the Seaview Avenue beach is all but gone. Lets hope that it is a light tropical storm year, that the Noreasters leave us alone for a year or so and that He who taketh away also shall giveth back.

The weather promises to be wonderful so get out there and enjoy the sand we do have left.