Causeway Gullies Must Go, Neighbors Say

Officials and neighbors are calling the county to task for problematic gullies and potholes on the Dunedin Causeway beaches.

“Sand is eroding the beach area causing swales and gullies to form,” Norma Tillges, president of the Dunedin Beach Civic Association, wrote Sept. 10 in a letter to county Commissioner Susan Latvala. “This is making it rough to even park your car on an even area.”

The prolonged neglect goes against a 2001 interlocal agreement, according to a draft resolution to be discussed during a city commission meeting at 6:30 tonight.

Beach erosion, the resolution states, has caused large "swales, potholes and gullies," which make "certain areas unsafe to drive; park or even walk on."

The resolution also calls the county to fix the "build-up of sand" along the paved  spur, which "causes ponding ... along the roadway."

Pinellas County, it states, should "take all appropriate steps to correct the lack of maintenance issues on the Dunedin Beach Causeway" per an interlocal agreement signed June 25, 2001.

"We have over a million visitors pass through the Causeway going to every year and it's a shame they have to look at unkempt property," Tillges wrote.

If the resolution is approved tonight at , it will be forwarded to the Pinellas County Board of Commissioners for discussion.