Share your sights about the 3rd rail of Volusia politics: seashore driving
When I advised my lovely wife, Joni, that I prepared to create about seaside driving this week, she recommended I move my truck from the front of our dwelling to the back again.
More:Beach driving advocates see an opening with election of new Volusia County chair
She was joking. Or probably not. Beach driving is really a third-rail difficulty in Volusia County.
But heated concern or not, seaside driving is probably destined to grow to be a debated issue in the county in 2021.
New County Chair Jeff Brower is a longtime seashore driving advocate who a short while ago instructed News-Journal reporter Mary Helen Moore that he programs to function to maximize the sum of beach on which cars and trucks can be driven. Brower is carefully affiliated with the team Sons of the Beach, the seaside driving advocacy team whose associates strongly supported his campaign for county chair. It will be surprising if seaside driving will not rise as an difficulty ahead of the County Council.
So, I think now is a superior time to check with visitors to share their thoughts about seaside driving with The Information-Journal.
Initial, some disclosure of my have views on seashore driving.
I’m pretty much completely neutral on the issue. I will not mind persons driving on the beach. I’m also Ok with people not driving on the beach. I can see how it may enable the regional economic climate, and I can see how it may hurt the financial state.
When I moved to Daytona Beach front almost 11 years ago, 1 of the to start with issues I did was take my truck down to the seaside for a very little travel. I drove onto the beach at the Harvard Avenue approach, and then drove south all the way to the seaside exit by the Plaza Resort, a distance of about 2 1/2 miles.
I would in no way driven on a seashore until finally then. My recollection is that the travel was enjoyment, but by the end of it the novelty had worn off. I feel that considering the fact that then, I’ve driven on the beach front a single other time, for about 30 yards prior to parking.
I do go to the beach, and really typically this time of year. When it can be low tide, and the wind is down, there is no improved place to go for a run or a wander than on the challenging-packed sandy beaches of Volusia County. I just don’t push onto the beach to do that. Which is not a political statement it truly is just a particular desire.
But clearly a ton of persons like to push on the 16 of 47 miles of county seashore exactly where driving is authorized or attainable. Most of that driving is to find a location to park, but plainly that is crucial to a lot of county residents, and also to a lot of people from Orlando and other pieces of the Florida. Quite a few seaside goers enjoy the benefit of parking on the beach front, which can make it easier for them to haul chairs and seashore toys and coolers.
Beach driving is — for a lot of men and women — also a subject of cultural heritage. Volusia County’s beach is exactly where world pace information ended up established in the early 20th century. The beach front is the place Huge Monthly bill France competed in and afterwards structured automobile races that he formulated into one thing identified as NASCAR. The beach is exactly where folks drove and parked for a long time, working day and night. It’s a part of the area’s passionate past.
Nonetheless, every thing evolves.
Most of the restrictions on beach front driving are a consequence of a federal edict to shield the atmosphere. For illustration, sea turtles also use the beach to lay their eggs, and shifting cars and trucks are not automatically superior for turtles. The current federal policies below which seaside driving is allowed will be reexamined in 2030, and no just one understands what will transpire then.
There also is the financial discussion. Some argue that Daytona Beach’s core beach side place went down the tubes when seaside driving was curtailed. Other folks argue that continuing seaside driving is 1 of the most important motives why our beachfront is arguably the the very least-developed on the East Coastline.
All of which leads to the query I would like readers to respond to: What do you believe about beach front driving?
A few loud voices are likely to dominate discussion about seashore driving. I hope to listen to from those people men and women, but I also want to listen to from a cross portion of other persons who have strategies worthy of sharing.
Imagine about that dilemma, and then deliver me an electronic mail with your feelings. It would be particularly valuable if you address the concerns of cultural heritage and economics. Also, include your identify and a cell phone amount. My e-mail is [email protected]
We will use your reviews as grist for upcoming stories and columns inspecting the concern of beach driving. Many thanks in advance for your aid!
