ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (CW44 News At 10) – Residents only have about a week left to park their cars and boats at Gandy Beach.
It’s all because the Department of Transportation says people are polluting and killing the mangroves and wildlife along the waterway.
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Now those inlets will be blocked off.
Officials with Department of Transportation say people will only be able to access inlets like this one by foot because wooden barriers will be blocking cars from squeezing between mangroves.
“We are talking about fish getting caught up in traps. We have a lot of crabs out here and they are getting caught up in it,” said resident, Bryce Flemister.
When Bryce Flemister goes to Gandy Beach with his kayak, he sees litter everywhere.
“I see a lot of glass bottles, plastic bottles, bottles that look like they are left over from a party,” said Flemister.
“I see trash out here regularly but not as much as on the other side,” said resident, Clarence Daniel.
The Department of Transportation says 10,000 pounds of trash was removed from the Gandy Beach area over labor day weekend last year, but there are also other issues.
“We’re had a lot of damage out there with people in their cars, people cutting down the mangroves, even burning them,” said Kristen Carson with the Florida Department of Transportation.
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“It’s definitely putting a hurt on the mangroves for their potential growth,” said Flemister.
But now the Department of Transportation is making a change to help the wildlife by installing wooden poles to keep people from parking or backing their boats into the water.
“We are hoping it will reduce the litter. We have an overnight camping problem and there’s illegal activity going on in this area,” said Carson.
And some residents are disappointed.
“Some people spoil it for other people,” said resident, Clarence Daniel.
“From just views of the water, we are missing out on fishing, we’re missing out on throwing our paddle boats out, our kayaks, even backing our boats in,” said Flemister.
Department officials say the project costs roughly $70,000 and will be completed in about a week, but beach-goers disagree about whether or not the investment is worth it.
“I don’t think it’s going to stop anyone from coming out here. I think people are going to do what they want to do and unfortunately there’s always some people who ruin it for everybody,” said resident, Rick Neal.
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“It sucks for now, but in the long run, hopefully we benefit from it,” said Flemister.
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