All true.
Fortunately, there are some pretty high tides coming at the end of next week that should cover that soft sand and harden it up a bit.
We haven't had a good week of high tides for a while, and I contribute the soft sand to that fact.
It does seem like the existing system really doesn't work well in the summer. If the life guards were more vigilant about not letting peds cross the driving area of the launch (you know, guarding lives), that is one possible solution.
Another would be to close it to traffic during peak hours (the rentals too).
Better signage for both motorists and peds would be helpful.
A low, long fence along the curb on the north side of the street keeping the peds out of the street there, and on the sidewalk, with a cut out in the sea wall to let them on the beach in the rental staging area would be a good permanent solution. That way they would have to try really hard to make it into the vehicle area (and some always will).
A rocket launcher on the street to shoot us, seated in our yaks, out past the waves?
I dunno. I have a 2wd truck. I am one of those hill-billys, and can make it on and off with little problem (or speeding). I grew up wheeling trucks in mud snow and the like. Nanner nanner.
Willy