The majority of Oceanside’s coastline is in need of sand.
So when it came to figuring out where to pilot the city’s RE:BEACH sand retention project, staff had plenty of options.
"We took the most eroded areas of the shoreline and divided them up into different segments, said Jayme Timberlake, Oceanside’s Coastal Zone Administrator.
She says different data analysis and outreach helped the city choose Tyson Street Park as the start of the pilot program.
"We'll be extending the project on down to Wisconsin Avenue and between Wisconsin Avenue and Tyson Street Park," Timberlake said. "We'll be developing an artificial reef off shore with the two headlands situated at Tyson Street and Wisconsin Avenue."
The headland and artificial reef design came from the Australian International Coastal Management Team.
"The artificial headlands act like ... points. Those structures will actually work just like a point in retaining some of the sand ... out to the extent that they are constructed. And then the artificial reef, it's just looking to slow down some of the currents that take the sand off our shoreline in Oceanside. Our shoreline is so straight and we have none of these natural features that help us retain sand naturally," Timberlake explained.
The design is often referred to as the "living speed bumps” concept and is already implemented on Australia’s Gold Coast.
Timberlake hopes it will also be successful in Oceanside. "We want to test it, make sure it works, and make sure it's meeting all of its performance goals. And then we can start to think about how to replicate it and maybe do it in other locations," she said/
There was some pushback over the project’s potential impact on the environment and surf.
"It's an emotionally charged topic," said Bob Ashton, the CEO and president of Save Oceanside Sand.
He said residents are concerned over the impact on surf, wildlife, and beach access.
He said the nonprofit will help educate the community while holding the city accountable for any impacts the project may have.
"If it shows the surf’s been negatively impacted, we should modify the design, or we should do something to restore the surf back to where it is," he said.
The city will keep an eye on the impact to the surf, by collecting data before and after the reef and headlands are installed.
Ashton also said the city and community should work on other initiatives that can help in the interim of RE:BEACH.
"Let's do more. Let's do some things in parallel. Let's do near term nourishment. Let's look at other solutions that we can implement now for other parts of our beach that buy us time," he said.
For the next year, the design will need to be refined, permitted and funded.
Construction is estimated to start at the end of 2026 or early 2027 and cost $31 million dollars.
