No day at the beach
Cape Traverse residents looking seeking solution for crumbling shoreline armour stones
CAPE TRAVERSE – Down a quiet little lane, well off the beaten path of most tourists, stretches a sandy little piece of picture-perfect P.E.I. beach. Sort of.
About 20 years ago, a series of armour stones were placed in a ‘u’ shape around Cape Traverse’s small, publicly-accessible beach in an effort to protect it from erosion.
However, the concrete chunks that were placed on the beach were construction project castoffs. Many of them have rebar binding inside. Over time, the tides have started to break down the stone, leaving exposed metal in places.
Some local residents say the stones have become a safety hazard and they are looking for input on what, if anything, should be done about them. A public meeting is planned for Monday evening to discuss the beach issues.
The Cape Traverse Ice Boat Crew is spearheading the effort.
Robyn MacKay, a member of the Ice Boat Crew, recently showed the Journal Pioneer around the site.
She pointed out that when she was a child the beach was a special place where they spent a lot of time playing in the summer.
Now that she has children of her own, she would like to spend time there with them. But as the beach is today she is always wary of going there with her kids.
“Everyone is really too frightened to bring their children to the beach here because of potential hazards and safety issues,” said MacKay.
“Not just children either,” added Sharon Kamperman, another member of the group.
“We’ve had a public event here (last summer) and it was very challenging for seniors to get around.”
Both MacKay and Kamperman had three-year-olds splashing around on the beach, away from worst of the broken stonework but still under their mothers’ watchful eyes.
Kamperman said she has five children and the only time they use the beach is when the tide is low and they can bypass the stones altogether.
“But when the tide is in, we usually don’t even bother coming down anymore,” she said.
Originally formed a few years ago in an effort to save the local ice boat historic monument, the Cape Traverse Ice Boat Crew has since evolved into a wider effort to preserve and enhance the community’s contribution to P.E.I. history.
Part of the reason the group is interested in restoring the beach is because it was once home to a large dock that housed the Northumberland Strait ice boats service. Throughout the 19th century and into the 20th century, small hybrid boat/sleds were the only reliable source of winter transportation to the mainland.
Today, remnant of the dock is still there. Its fate will be included in the community discussion.
That meeting will be Nov.
4 at 6:30 p.m. at the local Free Church of Scotland at 1726, Route 10.