Council Approves Third Motorized Gate
October 22, 2021
The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch
Page 31
BY SHAWN J. SOPER
MANAGING EDITOR
OCEAN CITY – Another street-end on the Boardwalk will be equipped with a motorized gate after resort officials approved the request. In recent years, there have been a handful of incidents in the U.S. and abroad when terrorists have killed and injured dozens of victims by crashing vehicles into areas where large groups of people gather. The Boardwalk in Ocean City naturally fits the description with dozens of access points where an ill-intending vehicle could reach the famed promenade and its large crowds. To that end, about three years ago, the Town of Ocean City launched a Boardwalk hardening project with permanent and semi-permanent barriers in most locations and gated access points at a few locations to allow fire, police, emergency services to access the Boardwalk when necessary. The initial power-operated gates were installed at just two locations, Dorchester Street and 3rd Street, to allow access to the Boardwalk during emergencies and certain special events. On Oct. 12, the Mayor and Council had before them a request to add another motorized gate at the north end of the Boardwalk at 26th Street. Public Works Director Hal Adkins explained the need for the request. “At the time of the initial Boardwalk hardening project, only two locations were selected by staff for installation of power-operated gates,” he said. “Those two locations were Dorchester Street and 3rd Street. Now that we have experienced the limits the hardening project has placed on the daily operational staff, such as cleaning crews, and some special events, such as car Cruisin parades we would like to convert the manual gate at 26th Street to a power-operated gate.” Adkins explained the total cost of converting 26th Street to a power-operated gate was around $38,000. However, when the Boardwalk hardening project was completed there was a remainder of $14,000, which was diverted to the public works campus project at 65th Street. Adkins said the unused portion of the Boardwalk hardening funding could be diverted to help cover the cost of installing a power-operated gate at 26th Street. The remaining $24,000 for the project could be funded through parking revenue, Adkins said. In response to a question why 26th Street was chosen and not the Boardwalk end at 27th Street, Adkins said 26th Street made more sense for his crews getting on and off the Boardwalk from an operational standpoint as opposed to the various motorized special events that hold Boardwalk parades, for example. The council approved the request with a unanimous vote.
October Peace: Puffy clouds, a blue sky and a quiet Route 50 Bridge created quite the fall image on Monday
afternoon.
Photo by Chris Parypa