HOUSTON – Galveston’s West End is disappearing fast and city leaders should get people out now, according to a new study.
There is no doubting the draw of the surf and the sand.
“There are a lot of families on the West End of Galveston -- that is what they come to Galveston for -- not what is behind the seawall,” said West End resident Dustin Owens.
The problem is, there is not enough sand, and too much water.
That is why a new study from the Rice University Shell Center for Sustainability suggests that the entire west end of Galveston Island should be abandoned in favor of the protection provided by the seawall on the East End.
The study suggests that the coastline is eroding at the fastest rate that it has in 6,000 years, losing between three and six feet every single year. It suggests that the West End would serve better as a location for eco-tourism.
“My family has been coming here every year since 1917,” said Charlie Klever.
Klever, a visitor from Shreveport, La., said he likes his tourism just the way it is.
”It is too much history here. It is too quaint,” he said.
Owens said study all you want.
“To suggest to somebody that where they chose to live and build their home, and have their family is not sustainable, well, I just don’t agree with that at all man,” he said.
All this is likely not to be a decision made by studies, or government, or people, but by nature.
