OCEAN CITY, Md. -- The town has lined the beach with brightly colored barriers to keep sand off the boardwalk. Many are happy the town is taking the issue seriously; they just wish the town had picked a different color.
Winter storms can cause quite a headache for Ocean City. So, the town has turned to orange barriers to keep the sand at bay.
"They've worked really well for us, especially in the offseason we get a lot of storms, we get a lot of blowing sand," said McGean.
In the past the town tried using sand fences or silt fences. Neither option worked out too well.
"What would happen is, because you couldn't put it right up against the pavement, you would actually get sand collecting around it and ultimately, you'd end up with a worse problem," said McGean.
McGean said that when the sand poured over or through those fences, it strained the town's workforce.
"It was always a challenge to remove all that and the manpower and equipment that it took," said McGean.
The orange barriers, also known as jersey barriers, offer a much more effective, albeit brighter solution.
Danny King has a clear view of the town's efforts from his boardwalk shop.
"This is a good idea, except they should be white, make it blend, white's a good color," said King. "Bright orange don't look so good, that's the only beef I got man, I think it's a cool thing."
Randy Austin, who was in Ocean City on Friday for a short vacation, is in the same boat as King. He's sure the barriers, filled with water to keep them steady, are much better at keeping the boardwalk clear of sand.
"If they could maybe just make the color a little bit different to blend in with the scenery a little bit, because it sort of takes away from the boardwalk," said Austin.
As for why the town went with the color orange in the first place, McGean said there's a very simple explanation.
"That's the color they come in, these things are typically used in construction, so that's the color that they come in," said McGean.
The barriers will stay up throughout the winter and will be taken down in the Spring.
