Fenwick Island adds child friendly street signs to incorporated beaches

FENWICK ISLAND, Del.- The Town of Fenwick Island is trying to make things easier and safer for parents and kids. The town is adding new sea creature street signs to the beaches from Atlantic Street to Lewes Street.  

Gabe Tempert, a Fenwick Island lifeguard, said Fenwick like many beaches have had on going issues with children getting lost on the beach. 

"We get lost kids every summer probably just about every week," Tempert said. "The kids just get separated from their parents, come back from being in the water and don't exactly know where they are."

The signs are to go along with what the street names are but more kid friendly. The new additions show the street name as what the sea creatures are like Jellyfish Street.

Although not all the street signs are out on the beaches yet, some like Beth Martinez said they have already made an impact. 

"When we came out to the beach, we made sure that we pointed out that we're the Seahorse entrance and that's what the kids need to remember," Martinez said. "They think that this is the seahorse street and that's fine with me."

Alesha Ashe has a beach house in Fenwick and said this is a welcomed change. 

"I really appreciate it as a mom who walks her kids up and down the beach, they are a good marker to where to go and where to drop things off," Ashe said.

Anne Hodges, who helped create these signs and is a member of the beach committee in Fenwick Island said there is a process parents should take to make sure kid's understand the significance of the signs.

"Parents and kids should stop up where the little chair benches are, read the sign and introduce them to the kids saying, 'Remember me on your way to the sea"', Hodges said. "Then they should identify the sea creature that's on the picture and tell them that while we're here at the beach this week, this is your sea creature, you are on Shark Street."

The hope for this new project is that the signs will do what they were made for and that's improve the safety of kids on the beach.

"If we could have no more lost kids, that would be the best case scenario or at the very least just getting them together faster and no one panicking," Tempert said.

As of now the first set of kids beach signs at the bottom of the beach are in place, but the town hopes to have the second set of signs in the dune crossings by the end of this weekend. 

For more background on this story click here.