The True Facts

1.  There have been absolutely no beach auto-related injury accidents reported to the police department on the west end of Galveston Island in the past four years!  There were 20 beach related auto accidents during the period, but they were all confined to East Beach, where everyone is herded because there isn't enough access along the entire coast!

2.  There have been instances of drunken behavior and other unacceptable social behavior.  The solution to this problem lies in proper signage and law enforcement.  The City of Galveston admits that it normally only has two police officers patrolling this entire western coastline, which is totally unacceptable.  This is a problem for law enforcement, not a problem that should result in the loss of public beach access to the majority of Texas citizens who are law-abiding.

3.  There has never been any evidence that vehicular access causes erosion.  On the contrary, the Heinz study indicates that there are two reasons for erosion...Development and Natural Processes and Events.   Now, obviously we can't stop natural processes and events, but we could stop development.  That same study concludes that Galveston Island is a disaster in the making because development should have been curtailed a decade ago!  As for the dune damage, development causes far more damage to dune structures than open access...in fact, if there were more maintained access routes, there would be less likelihood of a vehicle encroaching on the dunes!

4.  We believe in the rights of property owners to protect their property.  However, every single person that purchases property on the coast is aware of the Texas Open Beaches Act and that they have no control over the public easement area below the vegetation line...it's the law!  They are even required to sign a statement to that effect.  And while beachfront property owners pay property taxes, the rest of us are inadvertently subsidizing their homeowner insurance costs (according to FEMA, we are paying the lion's share of these expenses), and we are providing, through our taxes, 75% of the CEPRA sand renourishment costs.  This renourishment is taking place right now in front of the same subdivisions that want to deny your right to be there!

5.  Development on the island brings in a lot of tax money...no doubt about it.  But what happens to that tax base when the next major storm hits?  Galveston Island is currently eroding at the rate of 5-6 feet a year, primarily due to development.  Renourishment programs may or may not work...the jury is still out, but we do know that denying vehicular access to the beach will also hurt the economy.   Most of the tourists that rent all those rental houses down there drive on the beach, as do virtually all of the fishermen who ply the coast.  Then there are the birders, and people just down for "a day at the beach".  Galveston is a city that has been dependent on tourism in the past, but, because of the desires of a few wealthy homeowners, they are put in the position of disregarding the very element that has made the city successful...the tourists.

But all these reasons shouldn't even be necessary...

Open Beach Access is the Law!