Most of the laughing gulls don’t hang around for the shoulder seasons, citing a severe decrease in the boardwalk food supply, but a few diehards hang around for awhile. Most of the ospreys abandoned their nests, leaving the evergreen decorations behind. Perhaps they’ll visit for Christmas. Egrets are still in abundance.
Wildwood couldn’t seem to figure out its budget, apparently thinking the local purpose tax increase was more than it should have been. The state intervened and said that was the correct amount to cover all the silly spending. The mayor said that the state should pay the increase. He apparently doesn’t understand that the city, not the state, owes the money. He said he’s waiting for high rises to eventually save the day. Some of us believe that high rises will not only not save the day, but will destroy the character of the island, or at least what’s left of it. How long before a new bank of motels replaces the near-empty condos facing foreclosures?
A citizen suggested that the city could raise revenue by putting a toll booth on the George Redding bridge, or charging beach fees, or charging to go on the boardwalk. This sort of goes against all the advertising about Wildwood being free, but let’s take a closer look.
The toll bridge is such a great idea, it’s unclear why no ever thought of it before! Just what the island needs – a sure fire way to clog 147 into North Wildwood! The only people taking the existing toll bridges on Ocean Drive off the island are first-timers unaware that there’s no toll coming the other way. Traffic backs up on 47 whenever some little boat with a big antenna asks for the bridge to be raised. Imagine coupling that with a toll booth. No, don’t. . .
It’s also a sure shot that people would delight in paying to go on the boardwalk and then pay jacked-up food prices, as well as the high prices on the amusement piers. There would be few people left to watch the tram cars.
What about the beach fees? Well, I suppose the Crest and North Wildwood beaches have enough space to handle everyone except the two or three idiots stupid enough to buy a Wildwood beach tag. We need to bring in more forward-thinking residents such as this lady.
Wildwood plans to replace another block or two of boardwalk, and we can probably expect months of dickering over what material to use. Ipe is the preferred wood, because of its durability, but some environmental groups insist that it must be certified. Something about preservation, or regeneration, I suppose. I understand their concerns about the rain forests, but whether certified or uncertified, the trees have already been cut down. If the wood isn’t used somewhere, how does not using it help? I suppose we’re facing another partial winter of detouring off the boards on our bikes, but the boardwalk repairs are long overdue.
This year’s big festivals are over, at least in North Wildwood. The Italian Festival is next week, but in Wildwood. Pretty soon we’ll be able to start celebrating the off season. Nobody comes to the shore for Thanksgiving except residents and relatives.