- April 23, 2024
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Some stretches of State Road A1A in Flagler Beach have signs warning people not to park on the dunes. Others don’t — and people are parking there.
Resident Brian Ford brought the problem to the attention of the Flagler Beach City Commission at its Dec. 9 meeting.
“I’m seeing more and more of the cars and trucks parking on the side of A1A, specifically on the beach side,” he said.
“I’m just looking for solutions,” he added. “… Maybe stepped up enforcement, stepped up signage could be helpful. … If we actually erode the dunes from the roadside, that’s basically going to kill off what’s there and make it easier for those two dunes to go away, which we do not want to see happen.”
"Cars will pull off the road and pull 5 or 8 feet off of the shoulder. ... After that all gets trampled, then folks will pull further off the road, because now it’s nice and clear."
— ERIC COOLEY, city commissioner
It’s not a new issue: In previous years, Flagler Beach has considered various options for stepping up enforcement of the no-dune-parking rule.
“What’s happening is cars will pull off the road and pull 5 or 8 feet off of the shoulder," Commissioner Eric Cooley said. "Then you have the width of the car, then you have access for your passengers and all the loading areas and things, so now you’re way into the dunes. So after that all gets trampled, then folks will pull further off the road, because now it’s nice and clear, so now you have a car that’s 10 to 12 feet off the road, and it keep continuing.”
City Manager William Whitson said the issue came up doing the city’s strategic planning process.
“I would like to see us address this in the strategic plan and find additional resources to put behind it, because signage and enforcement are working in some spots, but it’s not uniform,” Whitson said. “And I think that we are going to, unfortunately, have to go with a physical barrier, or the problem’s going to get worse.”
A post-and-ropes barrier may be helpful, he said, but would have to be coordinated with the Florida Department of Transportation.
“There’s a lot of work that needs to be done on this,” he said.
Whitson said he's reached out to two universities about addressing the issue with an internship project.
"I think that we are going to, unfortunately, have to go with a physical barrier, or the problem’s going to get worse.”
— WILLIAM WHITSON, Flagler Beach city manager
“I’m going to try the intern approach; I’m going to see what I can get going,” he said. “ … Which means that we would need to put more resources behind it in the budget.”
Commissioner Rick Belhumeur said the city had placed money in a previous year's budget to address the problem, but hadn’t ended up using it. When the city does move forward, he said, prioritizing problem areas is important.
“There’s some really weak spots that should be addressed sooner,” he said.
Commissioner Ken Bryan said the city might need to use firmer wording on its signs.
“To see a sign that says ‘No parking’ is one thing; to see a sign that says ‘$100 fine for parking on the dune’ is another thing,” he said. “… I think it might be worth a try, anyway, to just be more direct — because we do have a $100 fine or a $150 sign for parking on the dunes. To let folks know that there’s $150 fine for parking on the dunes sends a clear message.”
He suggested the city try that in a few places and see if it works.
“The rope and posts are certainly a good idea too, but it starts to create other kinds of obstacles that are not that attractive,” he said. “But if they work, then we do what we have to.”
Belhumeur agreed.
“The signage says, ‘Please don’t park on the dunes’" he said. "Well, don’t say ‘Please.’ Say, ‘Don’t park on the dunes,’ and then, “Fine up to dollar amount.’ And a few signs planted in strategic areas may help. Puts a little more immediacy.”
Mayor Suzie Johnston said the beach in front of her home has had a problem with dune parking.
“The encroachment came so far into the dune it actually turned into a washout,” she said.
So, signs were added: 18-by-24-inch real estate style signs warning people not to park there.
“And over the last year, we have gone from having a washout to, now, the dune has fully grown up to the roadway on A1A,” Johnston said. “And it’s only taken a year’s worth of time.”
Signs like that could help stop the damage while the city looks into post-and-rope options, she said.
“It’s easier to stop it than it is to go in and have to put sand and rebuild the dune,” she said.
