Coquina Beach visitors see the good and the bad of removing 232 Australian pine trees

On an unbearably hot summer day, visitors at Coquina Beach knew where to find some reliable shade under the Australian pines.

Those trees won’t be there much longer, though.

Manatee County officials voted last week to keep moving ahead with their plan to remove up to 232 Australian pines from the parking lot area in order to put down a smoother surface with better drainage.

Beachgoers on Wednesday said it’d be a shame to see the trees come down but expressed mixed feelings overall at the county’s plan to remove the trees and replace them with other trees that provide shade.

“It’s a gray area,” said Ryan Kenzevich, an Anna Maria Island vacationer, who enjoyed a snack beneath the trees.

Just a few hundred feet away, construction crews navigated a bulldozer around four thick tree trunks that lie in a closed off section of the parking lot. Also nearby, a crane clawed out dirt to install a stormwater pipe along Gulf Drive South.

Kenzevich noted that the shade provided by the pines is one of the major perks for visitors and the events that are hosted in the area.

“I know they have the (Coquina Beach Market) here, and the shade makes it a great walkway for that,” he said.

Doris Miller sought shade, too. It’s her first time visiting Florida from Kentucky, but she was surprised to see so much natural shade right near the shoreline.

“The first thing I said when I got here was ‘Hey, there’s shade,’” she said in an interview with the Bradenton Herald.

But when she was told about the county’s plan to take down up to 232 trees for stormwater improvements, she didn’t think it was a good idea.

“A lot of these trees look old, but I wouldn’t do that,” Miller said. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

According to county staff, the system is broken. The parking lot floods often, and Australian pines are a nonnative species of tree that’s highly susceptible to snap and break during high winds.

One longtime local called the project a good idea. Latrelle Barfield, a Cortez resident, frequents the beach about three times a month.

While the shade the Australian pines provide is welcome, their constant barrage of needles is not, she said.

“I’m all for it. The needles are a pain,” said Barfield. “You come here for the shade and to relax, but you can’t even take your shoes off.”

Improved drainage is welcome, too.

“The last time I came out here, I literally parked in a puddle,” she explained.

County officials say they plan to host a workshop later this year to determine exactly how many trees will be removed from the Coquina Beach area and plan to finalize a landscaping plan. Construction is expected to be complete by spring of next year.