Fernandina Beach Press Release
Submitted by Kelly Gibson, Senior Planner
In the coming months, City residents and visitors can expect to see new signs at our beach access locations and along the Egans Creek Greenway. The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Coastal Partnership Initiative Grant has partnered with the City to fund the new signs. New regulatory signs will replace the old signs at all of the City’s beach access points. The updated design is more user friendly and resource conscious. It includes identification of some of our wildlife with the “leave only your footprints” slogan added. On the beach side, new 8 foot tall poles are being placed with the beach access number signs angled so that these numbers are visible from the water and both sides of the nearest access point. These signs serve to help beachgoers quickly identify their location in the event of an emergency situation. New informational bulletin boards are being added at each of our beach parks (North Beach, Main Beach, and Seaside). The new boards will highlight seasonal historic, cultural, and coastal resources in Fernandina Beach and tell the public how they can help protect them.
In addition to providing for an updated signage and educational scheme at beach access locations, the City is in the process of designing a way-finding system in its Egans Creek Greenway. The Greenway contains over 300 acres with roughly three miles of dedicated walking and biking trails and over two miles of navigable waterway with paddling trails for kayaks and canoes. Due to lack of any signage for the trails and the Greenway, the City has witnessed a rising number of complaints from tourists and citizens who are getting lost. The trails are also lacking any environmental resource informational signs or placards within the Greenway to help educate tourists and citizens of the wildlife surrounding them. Look for these signs to be installed by spring 2014.
Last summer, City installed Gopher Tortoise protection signs at ten locations to educate citizens that this endangered species is nearby as part of the same grant. These signs help to keep people from disturbing areas where a gopher tortoise has been identified. It is anticipated that the signs may move from time to time depending on the location of the tortoises.
For more information on the Coastal Partnership Initiative Grant please go to http://www.dep.state.fl.us/cmp/grants/. If you have any questions for the City, please contact Kelly Gibson at [email protected].
January 21, 2014 9:33 a.m.
A major improvement and one that visitors to the beach will find a bit more attractive then the “Have a Nice Day” after listing of multiple “Do nots”. Thanks to all that worked on this initiative and to the DEP for funding.