HomeMy Public PortalAboutCOTI_PR20150701_Jul3Celebration.docxPRESS RELEASE: Contact: Tybee Island City Hall
For immediate release (912) 786-4573
Tybee Island’s July 3rd Fireworks
Tybee Island, Ga. – (July 1, 2015) Tybee’s spectacular annual Independence Day Celebration’s fireworks will again take place the evening of July 3rd, starting at about 9:15 PM. The fireworks
are set off from the Parker Pier on Tybee’s south beach and are visible from any of the island’s eastern beaches, as well as from many homes and cottages elsewhere on the island.
If you head out earlier in the day, be sure to set up your place on the sand well away from the water’s edge. High tide will occur at about the same time the fireworks are under way,
and moving your belongings in the dark on a packed beach will not be a pleasant experience probably resulting in items floating away to be lost.
Many thousands of vehicles come to Tybee Island to take part in the festivities for Independence Day, and since the amount of parking space on the island is limited, traffic and parking
can be difficult. Due to the growing popularity of this event, public safety personnel take special steps each year to make sure emergency access remains available before, during, and
after the event.
One lane of traffic will be closed along Highway 80/Butler Avenue from Jones Avenue to Tybrisa, to make an emergency lane for police, fire and medical vehicles, which will leave one
lane in each direction for normal traffic. Space is reserved in Memorial Park for Life Star emergency transport if required. The area connecting the two parking lots on the south end
will be closed off for staging of emergency vehicles. These closures will help make sure that emergency services are able to get where they are needed; unfortunately, this action will
further restrict traffic and test drivers’ patience. Come early to avoid some of these frustrations.
Personnel with barricades will be standing by on the island’s south end to redirect traffic as the parking lots fill up. To ease the pain of finding a parking space, the City has published
a smart app for Android phones, called “Tybee Updates” on Google Play, which will give an indication of which areas still have parking, or you can visit the City’s web site at http://www.cityoftybee
.org and click the big “P” or “Parking and Beach Conditions” link near the top of the page. Remember, you must pay for parking every day on Tybee between 8am and 8pm. Vehicles can be
towed and ticketed when presenting a safety violation, such as blocking driveways, fire hydrants, intersections, or traffic flow. In fact, safety-related parking issues are enough of
a problem, that towing vehicles are stationed on the island during Independence Day for the express purpose of removing vehicles found in violation. Park only in designated spaces;
parking in unmarked spaces is not allowed.
Because the event is hosted at the Pier, parking there tends to fill first, and early. You can park instead in the metered parking areas along Butler Avenue or park at the north beach
near the Tybee Lighthouse and consider walking or calling one of the several shuttle services now serving Tybee. (See box.)
The Coastal Regional Commission’s Tybee Shuttle will have additional buses providing transportation during the day, but they will not be providing shuttle service back to Savannah after
the fireworks this year.
The regular Beach Shuttle schedule departing from the Savannah Visitors Center at 10am, 12pm, 2pm, and 5pm will be in effect July 3 and July 4.
Although last year’s event passed without serious incidents, in past years, fireworks set off on the beach have resulted in a family home that was destroyed and fires have caused damage
to the dune grasses that protect Tybee from potential storm surge, so the City requests that you not use fireworks on the beaches. Debris from unauthorized fireworks can be considered
beach litter, which could result in a fine up to $1000. We encourage everyone instead to enjoy our public fireworks display, put on by pyrotechnic professionals, safely on July 3rd.
Frequently declared one of the top beach and vacation destinations in the country, Tybee Island welcomes our visitors from far and wide. However, we ask that our guests please be considerate
and dispose of waste and discards responsibly - trash left on the sands hurts our wildlife, damages the environment, and can hurt your wallet as well. Uncontained trash can result in
a whopping fine. Again for safety reasons, glass containers are forbidden on the beach at all times. Our Department of Public Works crews spend up to six hours picking up more than
30 tons of trash off the beach the morning after the fireworks.
State law requires vehicles to stop for pedestrians in any marked crosswalk and forbids passing cars that are stopped at any such crosswalk. There will be many people of all ages walking
to and from the beaches for this event, so please drive cautiously and give pedestrians the right of way as required.
The Tybee Island Police Department will have additional officers on duty for this event to make sure traffic and safety needs are well met. Besides monitoring the roads and beaches,
they will also post Tweets to inform every one of events and conditions from their Twitter account @Tybee_PD.
As of this writing, seven endangered loggerhead sea turtle nests have been found on Tybee’s beaches. While on the beach, please do not disturb any marked nests. They hold fragile and
precious cargo, and your extra care would be appreciated by the many volunteers who put in thousands of hours of personal time to find and protect them. These nests are protected by
Federal law, and significant fines can be levied for any disruptions to turtles or their eggs.
Please exercise patience, drive safely and courteously, and leave plenty of time both to arrive on the Island and to return home. Departures off the Island after the fireworks can take
several hours, so visitors are encouraged to think about staying at one of the hotels or overnight rentals on the Island, staying the night with friends, or, at the very least, car-pooling
with a designated driver who gets plenty of rest to stay alert on the roads for the drive home.
Have a safe and enjoyable Fourth of July Holiday, wherever you choose to celebrate!
Useful Tybee Island links can be found on-line at
http://www.cityoftybee.org/Links.aspx
About Tybee Island, GA.: The City of Tybee Island, Georgia is on the outermost barrier island off the Savannah area coast. With a wild bird sanctuary, over three miles of ocean beaches,
and salt marshes on the back river, outdoor recreation activities abound for visitors to the island. As a key defense point to the important Savannah port, Tybee’s Fort Screven, Tybee
Post Theater, Fort Pulaski, and the Tybee Island and Cockspur Lighthouses combine with the unique architectures of the island’s raised cottages to form a rich backdrop for history buffs.
Attracting a strong artistic community, there are several local supporting art galleries. Keeping the island interesting year round are several arts festivals, the Annual Pirate Fest,
the Beach Bum Parade, St Patrick’s Day celebrations, the Hot Rod Run, the Beach Bash, and the Christmas Parade, as well as fireworks displays on Independence and New Year’s Days off
the Walter W. Parker Pier and Pavilion. The Marine Science Center cooperates with Georgia’s DNR to protect threatened sea turtle species by searching for nests, protecting their eggs,
and making sure hatchlings make it to sea. For visitor information, stop by http://www.tybeevisit.com/, and to find more about the City of Tybee Island, visit our web site at http://www.cityoftybee.
org/.
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