Vero Beach roads to be resurfaced starting Feb. 22

Low beach attendance for January; no water rescues

VERO BEACH — While chilly temperatures caused a drop in beach attendance last month, lifeguards are happy to report that there were no water rescues that occurred in January. "It's a great thing," Vero Beach Lifeguard Association officials said in a statement. "We hope people are paying attention to lifeguards and condition signs before they go into the water." The Vero Beach Lifeguard Association recently released its monthly report for the beaches at Jaycee Park, Humiston Park and South Beach Park. Lifeguards said about 54,105 beachgoers flocked to the shore in January. The highest beach-attendance record of 65,700 was set in 2019 for Vero Beach, lifeguards said. The record low for beach attendance was set in 2016 with 36,000 people, ...

FPL power pole upgrade jams traffic, damages grass

Complaints by south beach residents about midday traffic jams on Highway A1A, south of 17th Street, last week prompted FPL to shift lane closures to the overnight hours for the installation of new concrete power poles. The utility pole replacement project and related lane closures on A1A caught many by surprise, considering an average of 17,500 vehicles per day travel on the barrier island’s primary thoroughfare. “What I’d like to know is what is going on, because I don’t know and I haven’t been able to find out,” Sharon Strassner, of Sea Grove East, told Vero Beach 32963 last week. “The two days I sat in traffic, it was like 20 minutes of sitting totally at a dead stop and ...

‘No swimming’ advisory lifted for beaches, officials say

VERO BEACH — Authorities lifted a 'no swimming' advisory for three local beaches Tuesday after test samples showed that bacteria returned to normal levels, health department and city officials said. The result means it was safe to return to the water Tuesday, Vero Beach city officials said. The advisory - which was in place for nearly a week - was issued Jan. 31 for South Beach, Humiston Beach and Sexton Plaza Beach after high levels of fecal-related bacteria were reported at the locations. Environmental specialists with the Florida Department of Health in Indian River County collected water samples at the beaches Monday and on Jan. 28. The more recent collection of samples - tested at the Flowers Chemical Laboratory in Port St. ...