STEVE REID
Editor & Publisher
sreid@lbknews.com
The very northern tip of Longboat Key has long been a residential oasis. But over the past decade, the convergence of three factors – louder boats, louder stereos and far more boaters – is causing numerous north-end Longboat residents to cajole town government to beef up the size and protection of no-boating zones.
Noise has been a long-standing problem, emanating from the large sandbar in front of Jewfish Key as well as the spit of sand under Longboat Pass Bridge known as Beer Can Island.
But most recently, the convergence of boaters under the Longboat Pass Bridge and encroaching into the swimming and kayaking zone is causing headaches for residents and those wanting to protect a fragile shoreline and quiet lifestyle.
No one has been more vocal than Longboat resident Joan Bergstrom who grew up on the north end of Longboat and whose family, which includes Longboaters Tom Mayers, and sister Michael Saunders, have all lived for extended periods at Lands End directly on the pass.
Bergstrom wrote the Longboat Key Commission last week