Cape Seawall, Promenade Need Attention: Committee

CAPE MAY – The historic structures along Cape May’s oceanfront need better protection than the seawall affords. 
That was one message delivered to Cape May City Council May 1. The message came from the city’s Advisory Committee on the Seawall and Promenade which was appointed by the council in October.
The committee’s report also called for investment in the Promenade to restore it as a central tourist attraction in the resort. 
Following on similar recommendations from another committee dealing with city-owned buildings on the Promenade, the report called for lighting improvements, better signage, improved restroom facilities, more diligent maintenance, and proposed extending the Promenade the full length of Beach Avenue.
Realizing that the financial implications of an improved seawall and an updated and expanded Promenade are beyond the city’s capability as a single project, the committee acknowledged the need for a phased investment but called for a fully-developed plan to guide the investment over time.
Protection
The report outlined several areas of concern regarding the seawall and dune system.
Using photos from the March 1962 storm that did so much damage along the oceanfront areas, the committee expressed a sense of urgency about the inadequacies of the current seawall. 
Calling for reinforcing and possibly elevating the seawall, the committee cited the centrality of building along the oceanfront to Cape May’s status as a historic landmark city.
More frequent and powerful coastal storms, the science of sea level rise, and the experience of increased flooding all drove the committee to call for greater protection against “floods and storm surges.”
Staying with the theme of coastal protection, the committee also cited an urgent need to improve the dune network “through the use of eco-friendly methods.” 
The dunes have been eroded, threatened by invasive species, and even become a collection point for accumulated trash, members said. The overgrowth on the dunes encroaches on access paths, they argued.
Working to improve the dunes would involve environmentally sound plans for indigenous vegetation that stabilizes the dune structure while permitting the ocean views so important to tourism.
The report also called for more city attention to maintenance of the dunes and access paths.
Promenade
Again the committee report made use of old photos of days when the Promenade was at the city’s center of tourist activity.
Returning the Promenade to its old glory would be a long and expensive task undertaken over several years. The committee report fully recognized that fact as it called for beginning with upgraded restrooms moved from across Beach Avenue onto the Promenade. The report called for “architecturally attractive” restrooms that fit with the historic character of the area. 
More immediate opportunities for upgrading the Promenade included better lighting, enhanced signage and, once again, a stronger commitment from the city to ongoing maintenance.
The committee proposed consideration of a vision for an expanded Promenade, a wider structure running the “entire span of Beach Avenue.” 
Referring to the 2017 Vision Plan for Cape May, the committee pointed to the consistency of its recommendations with those in that plan.
Recent reports from the Advisory Committee on Municipal Buildings and Vacant Land have also stressed the need to strengthen the Promenade area and offered ways to do it through the improved use of city-owned structures. 
The two committee reports share a call for new capital investment in the Promenade.
The first step in any plan for the seawall and Promenade, committee members argued, is an engineering report on the seawall.
Council members agreed to consider a specific recommendation laying out the details of such an analysis as soon as the committee is ready to submit it.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.