DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — A Delray Beach nourishment project has drawn concerns from residents, including a disabled Palm Beach County man who says the steep drop-off created by the work has kept him from accessing the ocean.
Longtime resident Errol Gumer has been tracking the restoration efforts since January.
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"They'd do piece by piece and it looked like it was going to be pretty flat. We have the White Cliffs of Dover,” Gumer said.
The $19 million project spans more than 2 miles of shoreline and had an original completion date of the beginning of March. Its cliff-like conditions have left many residents with questions.
"Elderly people or handicapped people — they can't get in the ocean," Gumer said.
That reality is especially felt by Scooter Bobby, a disabled influencer and adaptive diver out of Lake Worth. He suffers from neuropathy — nerve damage on his leg from a workplace accident years ago. He has made it his mission to take veterans and people with disabilities to explore underwater.
“The benefit of the ocean just heals your soul," Scooter Bobby said.Seeing the incredible marine life that I see under the water and sharing that experience with other people is incredible.”
But he says the restoration project has now blocked his own access to the water.
"Accessibility at the beach is the most important thing for myself," Scooter Bobby said. "Since January, I have been trying to access that water, but with the restoration, it has been inaccessible to me.”
WPTV Reporter Zitlali Solache spoke with City Commissioner Julie Casale over the phone, who assures the drop-off will be fixed. Casale added that there is ADA access along Atlantic Dunes Park and that lifeguards can help with water wheelchairs. It is unclear when the fix will happen.
In response, Scooter Bobby said the uncertainty is frustrating.
"That’s just another week of not being able to utilize that beach and I know there is a shipwreck from what I’ve been told that is snorkel-friendly," Scooter Bobby said.
Gumer said he sees some benefit to the project but remains uncertain about what comes next.
"It's nice to have a wider beach cause the beaches are getting very narrow, but," Gumer said. "We'll have to see, I guess."
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