PODCAST: Margate Beach Access and Parking Discussed at Commissioners Meeting

Listen to clips from July 5, 2018 Margate Commissioners Meeting.

Parking. A problem that only gets worse as Margate development grows. As of late, the Margate Planning Board has been more likely to waive the once stringent, parking requirements.

LISTEN > Margate’s Growing Parking Problem

This is not just a Margate and Ventnor problem. All shore towns that depend on those 10 summer weekends a year are struggling with parking.

Commisioner Amodeo: looking at all options to relieve parking problems.

Would Commissioners consider opening up the Margate beach blocks for daytime parking? Yes. Will it ruffle some feathers? Yes. Would it relieve some of the summertime parking problems? Yes.

Parking illegally on corner spots. Over 100 NO-PARKING areas are often used to park. Margate PD uses discretion when deciding whether a ticket will be written. Small cars may get a pass. Larger vehicles may get ticketed. There is a downside to this, says one visitor to Margate: Drivers moving thru intersections have trouble seeing cross traffic. Drivers often block pedestrian walk-ways when trying to see around, what some say, are ‘illegally’ parked vehicles.

LISTEN > Margate Homeowners Association

Jay Weintraub of the newly formed, Margate Homeowners Association addressed commissioners. Getting voices heard. That’s the objective of the MHA. Weintraub, President of the association, identified bike racks, mobi-mats and beach access issues as top priorities for now.

Mobi-Mat Madness in Margate

Blue mats. How to get citizens over the hills. Mobi-mats were not installed by Army Corp of Engineers (ACOE). They claim it might be a tripping hazard. On Washington Ave., a lady broke her wrist when she slipped on mobi-mat. City says walkways will be cleaned of sand.

• Handicap accessibility. As designated by ACOE.
• ‘Only so much we can do’, says Mayor Becker of Margate.
• A safety issue. Climbing the dunes. Trudging thru excess sand stockpiled by ACOE for future beach work.
• 22 ADA compliant bulkhead access points in Margate. The city is adding a few more each year. These are cut-outs in the street-end bulkheads.

Need a lift over the dunes? Call BEACH PATROL HQ  ‭(609) 822-2370‬

Margate bike racks. When will they be installed?

Ed Walhberg says a grant was provided to Margate & Ventnor. The County has taken over that application. Still waiting and wading thru bureaucracy from County. Installing racks still needs to go out to bid.

The State of NJ, Former Gov. Christie, the Army Corp of Engineers (ACOE), Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Ventnor Commissioner Lance Landgraf and Congressman Frank LoBiondo believe that this ‘one-

size-fits-all’ will save lives and property. Opponents, comprised of Margate and Ventnor homeowners, don’t agree. Local taxpayers see the dune and beach sewer pipe project as nothing more than a quick way to spend Hurricane Sandy Relief money.

Margate Beach Patrol Reminder: It’s dangerous to climb beach sewer pipes.

Keep children away from outfall sewer pipes on the beach. Lifeguards are busy keeping an eye on swimmers. Don’t take their attention away from that top priority.

Downbeach citizens and summer visitors say dunes and beach sewer pipes do more harm than good.

In Ventnor, precious views from the boardwalk were blocked by the new dunes. Older dunes in Ventnor have grown as high as 20 ft.

During high tides, over 65% of Ventnor’s beaches are not usable. This is due to 50ft wide dunes, 15 ft clearance between boardwalk and dune, and a DEP protected, 20 ft section on the ocean side of dune.

The newly installed, 80 ft wide dune system now dominates a majority of Ventnor’s southern beaches.