The four-mile stretch along U.S. 1 between Historic Downtown Melbourne and Eau Gallie Boulevard passes between car dealerships on the west side and the Indian River Lagoon on the east. Blue and white signs with a sailboat logo identify Melbourne as the harbor city, but no harbor is in sight.
From the historic downtown, the visitor needs to walk a couple blocks south to Melbourne Avenue, which runs parallel to Crane Creek. However, the water remains elusive, hidden by private properties, Australian pines and no trespassing signs. The harbor is located to the east, at the angle of Front Street and Melbourne Avenue. University and high school crew teams row past moored boats. From a small boardwalk, visitors watch for manatees.
Leaving the Front Street harbor and driving north along U.S. 1, visitors pass pocket-sized harbors that dot the waterways along the Eau Gallie River, Elbow Creek and Tortoise Cove. Most of these harbors remain hidden, located behind residences in Ballard Park and on Thomas Barbour Drive, a tattoo parlor, and watercraft sales and repair shops. A boat builder who on one of these inlets said manatees come, and migrating birds stop over. But he also pointed to the contamination caused by non-point source pollution, or runoff.
A glimmer of blue or the flash of sails provides that element of surprise that accompanies the discovery of a natural setting. Many natives describe the area—harbors and waterways—as a well-kept secret.
Melbourne is one of many cities working to bring blueways back into community planning. The history of this city, which is named for Melbourne, Australia, is tied to the water. Many of its European counterparts would have boardwalks and cafés—not car dealerships and highways—bordering a waterway. Melbourne has the other necessary ingredients for the integration of blueways—a balmy climate and sea breezes, a unique ecosystem, access to the lagoon and the ocean, mangroves and estuaries. Cafes—one of which should be a 24-hour news café--and boardwalks should not be too long in coming. And then, the secret will be out.
Before the 2004 hurricanes, the waters in my backyard, just south of U.S. 1, were plied by hungry (some huge) dolphins who appeared regularly to fish for for easy, fast food. My neighbor across the creek would ring a bell to alert the neighbors of the show. Luckily, the manatees still manage to pull themselves through the silted waters to partake of the fringes of our lawns. I so hope a dredging project will restore this little backwater. Did I mention the blue crabs and snook?
ReplyDelete--H.E.
I loved your comment, and it sounds like paradise. It is a well-kept secret. . . to have this play of nature within our backyard. I also liked your description of the manatees pulling themselves through. . . given their "aerodynamic" shape.
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