HomeMy Public PortalAboutCOTI_PR20180702_Jul4Celebration.docxPRESS RELEASE: Contact: Tybee Island City Hall
For immediate release (912) 786-4573
Tybee Island Fireworks to Take Place July 4th
Tybee Island, Ga. – (July 2, 2018) Tybee’s Independence Day Celebration fireworks will take place the evening of Wednesday, July 4th, starting at about 9:15 PM.
The fireworks are launched 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, cottages, and parks elsewhere
on the island.
If you head out earlier in the day, be sure to set up your place on the sand away from the water’s edge. High tide will only be about 6’6” and will be earlier in the day at about 12:59
PM, so impact on the fireworks observers should be minimal. Low tide will be at 5:30 PM, however, so the water will be advancing on the beach! Visitors should stay well away from the
water’s edge if arriving in the evening.
While on the beach, remember that Lifeguards are there for the protection of everyone. Obey all Lifeguard instructions, and keep an eye on them while in the water.
Many thousands of vehicles bring families 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, it is recommended visitors come early to avoid some of these frustrations.
Personnel with barricades will be stationed at the island’s south end to redirect traffic as parking lots fill up. To ease the pain of finding parking, the City has just introduced the
Park TYB app for smart phones, available from both the Apple App Store and Google Play; the app is downloadable any time at no charge. Be sure you do not pay until you have found a
legal parking spot first, as there is no reservation system in the app! 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. 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.
Parking nearest the Pier tends to fill first, and early. You can park instead in the metered areas along Butler Avenue and nearby side streets, or at the north beach near the Tybee Lighthouse
and consider walking or calling one of the several shuttle services serving Tybee. (See box.)
In previous years, personal 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 use of fireworks on the beaches and streets, as well as in public parks, is not allowed. Debris from unauthorized fireworks, considered beach litter, could
result in a fine up to $1000. We encourage everyone instead to enjoy our public fireworks display safely as put on by pyrotechnic professionals.
Frequently declared one of the top beach and vacation destinations in the country, Tybee Island welcomes visitors from far and wide. We ask that our guests please be considerate and
dispose of waste 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,
as noted previously. Again for safety reasons, glass containers are forbidden on the beach at all times. Cigarette butts not only are litter, but they do not break down for many, many
years, leading to ingestion by many species of marine animals; the butts can result in the death of these animals. 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 event. A local volunteer group, Fight Dirty Tybee, will also be organizing a litter pick-up campaign for
Thursday, meeting at 7PM at the 17th Street cross-over. Check their schedule at Fight Dirty Tybee on Facebook.
State law requires vehicles to stop for pedestrians in any marked crosswalk and forbids going past cars that are stopped at any such crosswalk. Even though Tybee has flashing walk lights
at crosswalks on Highway 80, it does not matter whether the lights are flashing; drivers must stop for pedestrians. 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 to make sure traffic and safety needs are well met. There will be at least one intoxication check point in operation
on the island. Besides monitoring the roads and beaches, they will also post Tweets to inform every one of conditions from their Twitter account, @Tybee_PD.
Of course, this will be the first major event after the start of Georgia’s new state law that prohibits distracted driving. Do not drive and use your cell phone except as a pre-programmed
GPS navigator. Accidents on the Tybee Road are extremely likely to have been caused by distracted driving with a cell phone. Enforcement of this new law is aggressive, so you are risking
a citation if you do it, not to mention the safety of well-being of yourself, your passengers, and everyone on the road!
Record numbers of endangered loggerhead sea turtle nests have been found so far this year 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 preserve them. These nests are protected
by Federal law, and significant fines can be levied for any disruptions to turtles or their eggs.
Cross onto the beach only from the wooden cross-overs. Walking through the dune grasses will damage them and potentially endanger the island during future hurricane storms.
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. Please, don’t drink and drive!
Have a safe and enjoyable Fourth of July Holiday, wherever you choose to celebrate!
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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