The final proposition of the 2012 bond proposal is finally underway. The bond proposal will focus on the renovations of North Beach. Streets, sidewalks and water lines are being reconstructed as the city looks to improve one of its biggest tourist attractions.
While business owners and residents are happy with the changes, they still have their concerns over something that has been a long time problem plaguing North Beach: flooding.
“The number one priority is to fix the drainage issues and the flooding issues on North Beach,” North Beach developer Ron Graban said.
The drainage has been a problem there for sometime and plays a major problem when it comes to local business.
“It hurts my business,” Bob Catalano, a member of the North Beach Community Association said. “I have beach houses down here and you cannot even access my property when it rains.”
Proposition 7, which is the part of the 2012 Bond package that covers North Beach, is not focusing on drainage because its main focus was on tourism.
“The real focus of these two projects is really developing the area and making it more appealing to our tourists and our locals,” Public Information Officer Yvette Garcia-Jones said.
However the city is aware of the issue and is doing their best to alleviate the situation.
“We will be cleaning some of the existing drains,” Garcia-Jones said. “So the manholes, the inlets and the pipes will be cleaned to help with water flow.”
The business owners are happy with the changes but they are hoping this will only be the beginning.
“It’s long overdue it is nice to see but we are hoping that this just isn’t a band-aid on a larger problem,” Graban said.
The city has not announced any plans to work on the drainage system in North Beach and their current renovations are expected to be completed by the start of this Summer.
