OC Today WWW.OCEANCITYTODAY.NET
NOVEMBER 17, 2017
SERVING NORTHERN WORCESTER COUNTY
SPORTS
OPAH CAUGHT OFF OC COAST Crew aboard Primary Search reel in 105.4pound fish rarely seen in these waters – Page 29
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PHOTO COURTESY ALLEN HAINES
THE WHOLE SHEBANG A bird’s eye view of beach replenishment operations underway near 81st Street, with heavy equipment staged on the beach and the dredge visible at the horizon. The state, county and resort entered into a 50-year contract in 1994 to occasionally perform beach replenishment.
Securing OC Boardwalk Council agrees to hire firm to design protections that include retractable barriers
By Katie Tabeling Staff Writer (Nov. 17, 2017) Safety barricades of some sort appear to be destined for specific entrances to the Ocean City Boardwalk, following the City Council’s agreement Tuesday to seek an engineering firm to design a plan for their placement. What the council wants, however, is not just a row of bollards that would prevent vehicles from driving onto the boards, but some that would be retractable at the press of a button to allow emergency vehicles fast, un-
complicated access. The plan, City Engineer Terry McGean told the council at its work session, is to eventually install barricades at the 36 access points on the Boardwalk by summer 2019. That way no one would be able to drive a car through a crowd. Eight locations would need manual or automated barriers because “the frequent need for police, EMS, fire department, Beach Patrol and public works (to have access).” Other areas could be fixed with concrete planters and concrete bollards. “These barriers, in order for them to do the job, would need to be able to stop a medium-sized U-Haul truck,” McGean said. “Based on the speed it could attain, if it started on
Baltimore Avenue or Philadelphia Avenue, it could reach 30-40 mph before reaching the Boardwalk.” The same truck driving at 40 mph would produce 400,000 foot-pounds of kinetic energy, he said. McGean estimated the project would cost approximately $1 million, since large concrete planters to stop a fast-moving truck would cost $1,000 apiece, while the bollards would cost $250,000. He also recommended that 10 barricades be installed per street. Automated or locking gate doors would cost between a quarter-million dollars and $800,000, depending on the combination of barrier types. See COUNCIL Page 6
Guess who came to dinner in OC? Same as last year
By Katie Tabeling Staff Writer (Nov. 17, 201) The results of Ocean City government’s marketing survey were unveiled this week and, no surprise, showed that the resort has as exceptionally loyal following. Moreover, it also found that a majority of visitors do not have children, come to the beach several times a year, and that their interest is growing in the shoulder season. MGH President Andy Malis told resort officials “a lot of good news” was revealed in the 6,783 answers from the survey last month. He presented preliminary findings to the Tourism See SURVEY Page 3