Officials are jazzing up Delray Beach

DELRAY BEACH — New showers, water fountains, and bike and surfboard racks are among the shiny new amenities welcoming beachgoers in Delray Beach as the city sets its sights on completing $3 million worth of improvements.

Delray began construction on its public beach — one of the most popular in Palm Beach County — in April with goals to complete the project by Oct. 1. But a July Fourth celebration and Hurricane Irma slowed the progress.

Crews took down construction fencing ahead of Independence Day, then again before the hurricane. As the storm swept through, it brought down newly planted palm trees and spread debris across the site.

Construction crews had to clean up both before they

could get back to work. Mayor Cary Glickstein said improvements should now be complete by late October at no additional cost to the city.

“They really have done a great job,” he said.

Delray has added wider sidewalks along roughly 75 percent of the 1.3 miles of public beach. Crews are working to complete a final section on the north end.

They’re also finishing construction on a knee-high wall in the same location and soon will begin painting.

The sidewalks look great, said Emmy Savidge, 22, who works in Delray.

“I see a lot of people walking and biking on it so it looks like it’s being used,” she said. “A better beach means a better downtown for Delray.”

New parking meters along the beachfront from Casuarina Road north to Atlantic Avenue should be operational soon, according to a press release.

Jeff Mueller, 47, of Delray Beach, said he would have preferred that the city had converted the parallel parking along State Road A1A into diagonal spaces to make more room for parking.

“We should have gotten a little more for $3 million,” he said.

Contractors also are working to install additional trash cans, bike racks, benches and piping for shower and water fountains, the press release said.

John Zells, 40, of Boca Raton, especially likes the surfboard racks and said he’d like to see even more on the beach.

“It’s nice when you’re rinsing off and don’t have to ding up your board by setting it down,” he said.

The beachside improvements come after the plans took shape more than eight years ago. The project’s latest renderings stay true to the original ones, with views of the ocean framed by palm trees as drivers approach State Road A1A on Atlantic Avenue.

The beach’s natural dunes were leveled in the 1920s, according to city records. Fifty years later, erosion had stolen so much sand, the beach had been replaced with a series of concrete slabs.

To restore it, officials and conservationists dredged in sand and planted local species to take root and hold the dune in place, he said.

Out in the sun and the sand, Alfredo Ramirez spends his days on the beach in Delray working for a service that sets up umbrellas and cabanas.

Ramirez said the city has done a fabulous job improving the beach. “It matters for everybody,” he said.

As for the delays, Ramirez said construction crews worked swiftly to clean up the mess after the hurricane.

“These guys are very efficient,” he said.

Improvements on the way

Delray Beach earlier this year began adding amenities to its public beach. According to the city, here’s what’s left to finish:

Adding pipes underground for new showers and fountains on the north end of the beach.

Sidewalk improvements on the north end of the beach.

Additional installations of new trash cans, bike racks and benches.

Completion of the new concrete knee-wall on the beach’s north end.

Landscaping.