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First, they closed the beach to vehicles.
Then Port Aransas opened it up again to vehicles on Sunday, Aug. 9.
Now they’re about to close the beach to vehicles again. But only partly.
The details:
Parking will be allowed on only some portions of the beach in Port Aransas as part of a new plan to cooperate with a county order prohibiting vehicles on the beach, City Manager Dave Parsons said today, Tuesday, Aug. 11.
Nueces County officials have signed off on the plan, Parsons said.
Nueces County Judge Barbara Canales issued the vehicle ban on July 16 as a strategy for preventing the spread of COVID-19. The order was to continue to Aug. 1, but Canales extended it. It currently is set to expire on Monday, Aug. 17, but it could be extended.
The vehicle ban has resulted in severe parking problems on Port Aransas city streets and has depleted the city’s overtime budget for police to enforce the prohibition, according to a statement issued by the city on Sunday.
The statement said the city had stopped enforcing the county order, and sand berms were removed at the foot of access roads.
Then, on Monday, city and county officials met and hammered out a new plan. The county wasn’t going to completely back off on its order, but it was amenable to allowing the city to establish certain areas of the beach for parking, in order to prevent the parking problems that reportedly earlier blocked fire truck and ambulance access in some neighborhoods, Parsons said.
The city doesn’t have to enforce the county order, Parsons said.
“But if we want it done smoothly, we have to have some sort of involvement,” he said. “It doesn’t solve anything if we tell them (county officials) they have to do it themselves.”
The plan will mean allowing vehicles to enter the beach at Beach Access Road 1A, Sand Castle Drive, Avenue G, Lantana Drive and Beach Street, Parsons said.
Parking will be allowed on the beach within about 500 feet on each side of the access roads, he said. Sand berms will block the beach road beyond those points, so there will be no driving the full length of the beach.
Vehicular access to the beach won’t be allowed at all at Beach Access Road 1 or Cotter Avenue, he said.
Work to create the sand berms and new parking areas was expected to begin today, Parsons said.
The county is “stepping up” to assist with enforcement on the beach, which will allow the city to avoid having to pay overtime to its police officers, according to Parsons.
After a South Jetty reporter’s messages were left with the office of Nueces County Judge Barbara Canales, she issued a statement on Monday, Aug. 10.
“Public health, public safety and public finances are all interconnected and vitally important,” Canales said. “This morning, I met with Mayor (Charles) Bujan, joined by members of our emergency management teams, to discuss how we can work together to slow the spread of COVID-19, reduce road congestion to ensure emergency vehicles can operate safely, and carry out these actions in the most cost-effective way possible.”
She continued: “Our success depends on the close cooperation and coordination of city, county, state, and federal governments to create rules that deliver results, and I look forward to continue working with Port Aransas a vital partner in our emergency management effort.”
Closing the beach to vehicular access has been supported by folks who have said they believe the action will reduce the number of people gathering on the beach and therefor cut down on the possible spread of COVID-19.
Others have complained that the order seems ineffective because people were able to spread out more when they were allowed to drive on the beach. In fact, these folks have argued, people might be gathering more densely because they aren’t so likely to move very far down the beach when they’re on foot.
(More will be in the Aug. 13 edition of the South Jetty.)
Do the powers that be — talking mostly about the County, REALLY think that this is a viable plan?? This is getting ridiculous. Take a look at things officials are doing to create “safe’ space for people, and it does not make any sense. Besides, people are very resourceful and they will take matters into their own hands. I have seen people parking along the roadways and using the small channels and ponds along 361 so they could park closer to where they could access water. When will this end…….BTW do the county officials think we are idiots?? People can take care of themselves and responsibly social distance on their own without the “nanny” state telling them how to do it. I’m sorry, but I am disgusted.
Bad idea… There will not be less people/cars. They will just be closer together… Horrible solution…
So basically, the same number of people are going to come to the beach, but now confined to what’s going to be a tightly packed area. Way to think this through, County. Good job working to social distance and prevent the spread by forcing the same number of people into a smaller area. Kudos to the City for trying to work with the County, but it seems the County’s common sense factor has been completely lost.
In 2014 this picture was taken of me and my brother fishing we drove to the beach and jetti and parked. Just wondering why my truck didnt cause a virus then. Probly the same reason it wouldn’t 6 years later or all the years between then and now. It’s not possible. It cant happen. Someone has there thinking cap screwed on wrong or to tight. Stay strong port a we love yall .guess I cant put the picture on here.
Non of it has any logic. People will gather in the closest spot they can find. Its summer and wanting to get to the water as soon as possible is the whole reason this vacation mecca exists. Having a Pandemic interrupt our lives is bad enough but to take complete leave of common sense is ridiculous! We are in grocery stores and other businesses much more closely than being Outside in an infinite wonder of this sandbar we call Port Aransas. Prices for lodging have gone up across the board. Add this nonsense of basically ‘no beach for you’, and where will the city’s money come from? Tourists dollars? I know several people who are now spending their beach time and money elsewhere. Come back to reality Port A !
County Judge Barbara Canales is way out of line closing our beaches to vehicular traffic!!!!
1. She has no accurate data to back up her actions
2. She is causing thousands of people to line our streets, blocking traffic, private property and emergency vehicles
3. Parents do not have ten arms to carry all of their chairs, umbrellas, ice chests, toys and hold their children’s hands. Children are darting out into oncoming traffic. I have now lost count of how many children I have seen nearly hit by cars.
4. People on the beach are crowding closer together than they ever did when they could drive. Her order is having the opposite effect by cramming people together.
5. The physically disabled CANNOT enjoy the beach. Very few parking places. If they get on the beach, they cannot move in the sand. The elderly have a worse problem with mobility.
There is NO COVID ON THE BEACH!!! Please rein her in! Our beaches provide us an escape from stress which is at an all time high. Tremendous depression and tempers are rising. Please, please do something about her over reach. The Texas Beaches act requires that we the public, shall have access ingress & egress to and from our beaches. Enough is enough! There are now planned protest to begin in a few days and a petition us going around with nearly 2500 signatures gathered in just the past few days.
We the people and voters of the state of Texas demand we have vehicular access to our gulf beaches. They belong to us!!
Yes yes yes. Thank you!
Once again City & County officials have not been forthcoming with details on how effective any sort of vehicle restriction has been in reducing beach usage and/or reported Covid-19 cases.
Thus we do not know if this action is good leadership or meaningless action by politicians putting on a show.
If it is working give us the details. If it is having minimal or no affect stop BSing us.
Also, once again the media is acting as a spokesperson for the administration and not pressing for these important details.
I have someone who is partially disabled and has a ADA placard for the vehicle. How does that work on the beach and in coordination with this new order?
Yes we came down to the beach Tuesday night, to see how things were, and make sure we could get my wife’s 93 year old grandmother( disabled) and her dad ( disabled veteran) to the shore. Wednesday evening we go down and they tell us beach closed. We are not from here and it seems to me ( common sense tells us ) being alone with family on the beach would be the safest place on earth, to spend a couple of days. And if you have no beach parking or handicap parking what is the point, only abled body people are allowed?
There is an 8:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. curfew on the beach mandated by the county.
Restricting beach access has created more of a problem then leaving it open. I am disabled and cannot walk from where we have to park. The beach is a healing place for people like me. Please open the beach this is where families can safely distance themselves from other families. I believe our tax dollars could be spent in a much more needed place than ticketing people that need the beach open the beach back up and see what happens. People that love the beach like I do need it back open that is why we live here and I do not believe that closing our beaches is the answer. Please Consider my request and open all beach access thank you
So I can get on the beach in Port A if I use the allotted roads?
Was planning on driving over on Wednesday!
These are trying times for everyone and our elected officials are definitely earning there pay. I sure wouldn’t want there job.!
This is ridiculous! I guess the businesses are going to suffer even more, because I won’t be headed that way.
This is a waste of time and money. Open the beaches and enforce social distancing. This is only going to crowd people together.
First it was you can be on the beach but you can’t sit down. Then it was no vehicles, well ok we’ll let vehicles on if you have a disabled placard. Now it is vehicles to a certain point.
I don’t think any of the so called leadership really knows what they are doing. The more that you let them take your freedoms the more they will. Port Arkansas stand up to these idiotic ideas. The beach and open air no problem there until a judge and a mayor start making dumb decisions.
The bottom line is people stay at least six feet apart from who they don’t know on the beach. Vehicles do spread things out which means more safety. My final thoughts are elections make a deference. Vote Judge Canales and your mayor out of office, obviously they are power hungry and make poor decisions.
Ridiculous!! Pile everyone on top of each other in small areas instead of allowing them to spread out and social distance.
The beaches being closed has caused more of a danger. It is causing people to not distance the required 6 feet of others. People do not want to walk all their tents, children, beach toys and etc.. down the beach to distance themselves for others. It is just to much when you have small children. Everyone is piling up at these entrances..
if they would allow people to have the vehicles in order to locate a spot and move their items off and on the beach then I feel as though people would be more likely to distance themselves from each other. We were at the beach last week and everyone was piled up on the beach at these entrances. One tent on top of the other. No one was social distancing.. people were having to carry everything on and off the beach including young children and rather then walk down the beach always carry’s all their belongings it was easier to drop at the entrance set up and play all day.
Unless you were handicap then you were aloud to have a vehicle which is totally understandable.
The NO beach parking is ridiculous during daylight! Allow parking and collect fees for beach parking to pay for city and county charges! The trash washed up on the beaches from the storm a couple of weeks ago, needs to be cleaned up! I have been coming to Port A for over 30 years and have never seen the beach so trashy for so long after a storm!
So it is the vehicle spreading Covid. Maybe the group of 10+ people gathering on the beach not social distancing that could be causing the spread. The Governor did that order.
A family of 4 driving and social distancing on beach may spread less than 20 people together on the beach regardless of how they got there.
Has there been an environmental impact study done to examine the effect of what the building of these ridiculous sand berms aka dunes) has had on the shoreline environment….aren,t we hindering sand crab scurries along the beach 😀)
Have you seen the people hauling chairs, coolers, grills, canopies, children to the beach. You can’t take away the love we have for the beach. Please, !
My wife and I come to Port A several times a year. This see saw back and forth shows while the city and county are trying to accommodate all sides of the issue, its not working. It would be better to just open the beaches, all the beach access to vehicles, this will allow the populace to be a further distance from each other. It does not seem rational to keep some portions of the access to vehicles open while other areas are closed. In a sense the planners are defeating the purpose they want to resolve. Plus you can’t legislate from the bench, to often these Judges circumvent the constitution which takes away our fundamental right as Americans. PS- The judge who gave the order is an elected judge, let we the people us speak loudly at the ballet box this November. Government creates more problems then it solves, let freedom reign. Thank you
Well are you listening, your ‘Honor’? The people have spoken. Do you hear them? We are speaking with one voice, judge. If you have any proof that these concepts you continue to dream up have any basis in proven science, we are open to hearing it. Otherwise, you are single-handedly signing signing the death certificate for Port A for some imagined stature. Please find a little humility, admit you may have over-reacted. We all know this charade is a fool’s errand based on zero science – how is it an educated person such as your self does not? (rhetorical, no answer needed) It was said, by a wise person, that when you find yourself in a hole, stop digging. Pay attention to those wiser than yourself.
How is this going to help? You go in a restaurant and wear a mask in, take it off and are closer than you would be outside. And for the record, police can’t even stop people from trashing the beaches or bringing bottles and you think they can make sure they social distance people? Please! People volunteer and go clean up beaches. People decide if they go out to eat. And they decide if they do what they should about COVID. Never in all the years of coming to Port A has anyone been on top of each other. Only when the young kids come to town for spring break. Or sand fest . Open it up and let people get away from each other outside. And what the heck does driving up and down the beach hurt? They are in cars or carts and not near anyone??? Hmmm
It has been a long time since I have witnessed incompetence and stupidity at a level this high…
Want to close the beach to vehicles permanently, then have a vote, city council, build parking lots and dine crossing, handicapped spots, and make it happen over a phased in 3-5 year time period… let the people decide and hold elected officials accountable….
This ordering with no plan of no beach access because of a virus by a judge that does not have fiscal responsibility over the area she is effecting is beyond ridiculous.
I have been coming to the port a beaches for over 35 years. I was there this past weekend and it was absolutely ridiculous! Cars were parked along the side of the road so far that over a mile and a half of cars parked leaving a one lane access between the cars on each side where I had to back up five times to allow traffic coming from the beach to leave so I could go to the beach to pick up my family and friends. Everybody on the beach was closer together than I have ever been. When we were allowed to park our cars there were two car links between me and the next group!! This past weekend you could not have even parked a bicycle between the groups on the beach. What is wrong with the city Council and the county? The dumbest idea I’ve ever heard, not to mention losing money for beach parking passes and for restaurants could not be a good thing for port a right now. They never fully recovered from the hurricane and then the last storm!!!!! Covid Is not being spread by families and people on the beaches, perhaps the huge parties on the beach which I can understand limiting groups, but not the car and parking thing.
Good grief. I’ve been coming to Port A for over 45 years, and never seen anything this stupid. I mean, , how often to you get within 6 feet of a stranger on the beach anyway? Why not make something more realistic, like, say, require cars parked on the beach to be at least 50 feet apart, something like that? Instead, they’re cramming everybody into a small area of a few hundred feet, and closing off MILES of empty beach. I think some of this is just ego, and city government people refusing to be told anything, or admit they are wrong. It’s all about politics and power.