TREASURE ISLAND, Fla. — The Tampa Bay area is always a hotspot for holiday travel, and this Labor Day weekend is no different.
CBS reports nearly 150 million Americans are planning to travel this weekend for Labor Day, but as parts of the Tampa Bay area work to reset after Hurricane Idalia, some places are asking that you give residents a little space.
“We just ask people not to go to that area,” Jason Beisel, the Public Information Officer for Treasure Island.
On Treasure Island, “that area” is Sunset Beach.
With sand in the streets and furniture being tossed, officials say the neighborhood was hit hard by the storm, and folks living there need this weekend to clean up.
“When you get over there, you really see the destruction of mother nature and what that storm surge did to that neighborhood,” Beisel said.
Let’s be clear, the city is not asking people to stay away from Treasure Island, just Sunset Beach and the Sunset Beach neighborhood.
“We want them to come out, we just want them to stay on the main beach. The main beach is wide, it’s got plenty of room,” Beisel said. “We’ll be ready for visitors out here on the main beach, we just ask that you avoid Sunset Beach.”
Aside from beach parking for Sunset Beach being closed off, the Treasure Island Police Department has already put out a message on how they plan to help keep the area clear.
“Our officers are going to be down there checking to make sure people that are down on Sunset Beach have business and a reason to be there,” Chief John Barkley said.
Officials have been posting updates about cleanup efforts online to let the public know when those areas that are most impacted will get back to normal access.