Quality of Life along the Bayshore; Sidewalk Project in the Crosshairs

NORTH CAPE MAY – Lower Township Councilman David Perry remembers the early 1960s when one could see fishing shacks and a diving center along the North Cape May beaches of Delaware Bay. He recalls the big storms of that era, and how he observed storm surge flooding onto Beach Drive.  
Perry grew up in this area and sees the current controversy over the beach sidewalk improvement project in simple terms: “I would never, ever do anything to those beaches that would hurt the dunes that protect us. I believe that the improvements will not only strengthen our coastal defenses, but they will make our residents, visitors and their children safer from traffic accidents.”
“I was misled when I was campaigning,” Perry added, “which led me to oppose the project in 2014 until I did the research and changed my mind in support of the project.”
Perry was referring to the period when he ran for council and went door-to-door to learn the ward’s issues.
Based on what he was told, he opposed the plan because it seemed that commercialization was the ultimate goal of the project.
Perry also noted there was no formal township presentation to counter the misinformation that some groups, such as the SOS (Save Our Shore in North Cape May) issued about commercial development.
He also added that he has always been opposed to any form of commercial development along the shoreline.
Project Description
According to Perry, the project will reconfigure the roadbed on Beach Drive to ensure that proper drainage is maintained before asphalt paving is complete.
The west side of the road from Emerson to Lincoln will receive a six-foot-wide sidewalk; the displaced dune sand will be replaced on top of the dune being moved. Vegetation will be planted to secure the dune on completion. 
The east-side sidewalk will be repaired. Handicap access and new lane markings will also be installed for the length of the project roadway.
History
The initial project was introduced April 7, 2014, when a resolution to apply for a $900,000 grant was approved by a 5-0 vote.
After a special meeting on May 31, 2014 that produced considerable and vocal opposition in a packed meeting room, the resolution to begin the process was rescinded June 2.
On Jan. 6, 2017, the township’s engineering firm Mott MacDonald generated a letter stating that it would apply for another grant to fund the project that was rescinded in June 2014.
Perry does not know who reintroduced the project that had been rejected in 2014, but he stressed his support for it despite the opposition.
On April 3, council passed a resolution to award Mott MacDonald a no-bid contract for $175,000 to perform the design of the project. According to Grant Coordinator Coleen Crippen, the firm will provide financial estimates to be used to apply for the new grant.
Financing
Perry stated that he doubts that the initial 2014 project estimate of $900,000 will suffice in today’s climate and he expects that number to increase.
He also acknowledged that although he hopes that any grants received for the project will cover the full costs of engineering and construction costs, if the grants do not cover the costs then the township would have “to bond it” (issue a new municipal bond) at the expense of taxpayers.
Environment and Safety
The issue of whether there is a demonstrated need to address accidents and injuries along this stretch of roadway along the bay remains somewhat unclear.
In 2014, Lt. Patrick Greene of the Lower Township Police Department supported the plan but added that there were no reports of accidents or injuries along Beach Drive at that time.
Perry recalls that in July 2015, a young boy was airlifted off Beach Drive after he was struck on his bike by a vehicle. There may have been another case other than the police report by Greene.
Attempts to confirm these incidents with the police were unsuccessful.
Perry was unsure if the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) had reviewed the 2014 plan for dune displacement and overall impact on the V-zone designations, but he does not believe FEMA officials have seen the current plan.
He stressed that the state Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) has seen and approved the plan; “I cannot see how the DEP would issue a permit if it were not safe for the environment.” 
Opposition
Joseph Ganci is a 33-year veteran of the Labor Department’s Inspector General Office, and emergency manager who stated that he is opposed to the project because of the storm protection problems that this plan would aggravate.
He went on to say that the dunes, which are in a FEMA V-zone, will be knocked down; the dunes should be eight feet taller than they now are.
“Look at the Wildwoods and others who have 16-foot dunes,” he said. He further stated that he heard an engineer at a county seminar state that the Delaware Bay in the area is prone to storm surge flooding and that it would be best to have the 16-foot dunes that are required on the ocean side maintained on the bay side as well.
Ganci also stated that sea water levels are on the rise in Delaware Bay which necessitates, even more, attention to coastal protection issues.
Ganci spoke to the NJDEP about the issue in the past, but its officials referred him to FEMA. He knows that in 2015 FEMA was contacted about this plan, and he believes that it recommended against removal of these dunes.
He countered the argument that the dunes will be moved, not eliminated because moving the dunes closer to the water lines also reduces the protection afforded to the coastal area inland. 
Ganci likes the aesthetics of the 33 new beach access points just completed but criticized the methods used because these new access points are now just 33 more ways that storm water surge can penetrate the residential areas.
Bay Shore Quality of Life
It could be stated that the issue of installing sidewalks and improvements along Beach Drive is only one variable of the “quality of life” equation that Lower Township residents and officials are concerned about, and seem to agree upon in principle.
Those variables include improving the beach access points to facilitate safe access for all, enactment of, and strict enforcement of dog leash laws, littering rules, beach alcohol usage, boat launch restrictions, roadway speed and other motor vehicle enforcement efforts on Beach Drive, and new pedestrian and Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant crosswalks.
Additionally, all seem to be concerned about serious coastal protection problems in light of recent changes to sea levels and violent storms, as well as new FEMA maps that require new construction rules and flood insurance in V-zones that had never been required in years past.
If government and representative local groups and residents were to recognize that all these variables impact their quality of life, then opportunities for a compromise by stakeholder leaders regarding the issue, including all the other issues that impact Lower Township’s “livability quotient,” might lead to a unified strategy to maintain and protect the quality of life along the bay shore.
To contact Jim McCarty, email jmccarty@cmcherald.com.