Gulf Shores has temporarily closed one of its public parking areas while crews work to clear sand deposited by Tropical Storm Bertha, the city announced.
According to a post from the City of Gulf Shores, Main Gulf Place, located at the end of Alabama Highway 59 near the beachfront, is closed to vehicular traffic. The city said the closure is expected to remain in place until Friday as Public Works crews clear sand that was pushed into the lot during the storm.
Main Gulf Place sits at one of the busiest access points along the Gulf Shores waterfront, where Highway 59 meets the beach at the heart of the city’s public beach access areas. While the lot is closed to cars, pedestrians are still able to reach the beach on foot through the area, though the city is urging caution given the ongoing cleanup work and equipment in the area.
The closure is one of several lingering effects felt along the Alabama coast after Tropical Storm Bertha moved through the northern Gulf of Mexico earlier in the week. The storm brought rough surf, storm surge and gusty winds to Baldwin County beaches even as its heaviest wind and rain stayed offshore, prompting beach closures, a fishing pier shutdown and rip current warnings up and down the coast. Sand displacement of the kind now being cleared from Main Gulf Place is a common aftereffect of tropical systems along the Gulf Coast, where wind-driven surf and storm surge routinely push sand off the beach and onto nearby roadways and parking areas.
City officials did not indicate whether any other public parking areas in Gulf Shores were affected. Residents and visitors planning beach trips this week are encouraged to check with the City of Gulf Shores for updates on the status of Main Gulf Place and other public parking areas before heading to the coast.