North Wildwood lifts ban on some beach tents after progress on beach nourishment project
NORTH WILDWOOD, N.J. (CBS) -- Thanks to progress on the city's beach nourishment project, North Wildwood is scaling back on its beach tent ban just in time for the Fourth of July holiday weekend.
North Wildwood Mayor Patrick Rosenello posted on Facebook Tuesday that the city council approved a resolution to suspend restrictions on beach tents, cabanas and canopies.
"Tents or similar shade structures that are 10' by 10' or smaller are now PERMITTED on the North Wildwood beaches. Any structures larger than 10' by 10' are still restricted," the post said.
Back in May, the North Wildwood City Council approved banning large tents for summer 2024 because of the lack of space due to severe beach erosion. According to Rosenello, the New Jersey Department of Transportation finished its beach nourishment dredging project last week, and the city will start restoring beach access and other amenities.
"Even though much of the beach has been restored, there may be some noticeable erosion that takes place. This natural erosion is expected to take place as the new beach creates its natural slope. The City will monitor daily to alleviate any unsafe scarping," Rosenello said in his post.
As part of the beach nourishment project, crews spread 750,000 cubic yards of sand along the beach from 2nd Avenue to 23rd Avenue.
Back in June, beachgoers in North Wildwood said they noticed a difference.
"It looks absolutely beautiful!" Donna Murphy told CBS News Philadelphia. "There was no beach here at all and now, it's pretty, pretty big."
"This is the best day," Ron Paley said. "If you were here a month ago, you would've thought no one would be on this beach, no beach at all, and in two-and-a-half weeks, you can see how big it is now."