Ocean City Gateway Getting a Makeover

There is a haphazard collection of 34 signs clustered along the 34th Street entryway into Ocean City.

Some of them are traffic signs. Some are for businesses or organizations that don’t even exist anymore. Others are faded and hard to read.

“It’s confusing, and it doesn’t look good,” acknowledged Fourth Ward Councilman Dave Winslow, who represents the southern part of Ocean City, including the 34th Street corridor

But after years of discussions, the city is planning to give the 34th Street-Roosevelt Boulevard entryway a makeover in coming months that will include new landscaping, decorative LED lighting and the removal of some of the aging signs.

“That whole corridor, when it’s done next year, is going to be beautiful,” Winslow said.

Winslow gave a presentation on the project during a Fourth Ward meeting Saturday attended by about 80 local residents and a delegation of city, county and state elected officials headed by Mayor Jay Gillian.

    Fourth Ward Councilman Dave Winslow addresses the audience during the community meeting.
  

While addressing the audience, Winslow noted how the 34th Street-Roosevelt Boulevard entryway has grown from being a “sleepy, little road” about 20 years ago into Ocean City’s second-busiest entryway, behind the Ninth Street corridor.

“Now, it’s a major gateway into our city,” Winslow said.

The 34th Street corridor ties in with Roosevelt Boulevard to link Ocean City’s southern end with neighboring Upper Township. The roadway, including the 34th Street Bridge, spans about two miles from Route 9 in Upper Township’s Marmora section to Bay Avenue in Ocean City. The road is under Cape May County’s control, which prevents Ocean City from simply using its own money to give it a makeover.

The county is getting ready to elevate the 34th Street-Roosevelt Boulevard corridor about a foot to 18 inches between the bridge and West Avenue in Ocean City to protect the road from flooding.

The project also includes raising the intersections along West Avenue at 35th, 36th, 37th, 43rd, 44th and 45th Streets.

After the construction bid is awarded by the county, the roadwork is scheduled to begin in late fall and continue through the winter and spring of 2026. Barring delays, the project is scheduled for completion prior to Memorial Day 2026.

    Cape May County is preparing to raise the 34th Street-Roosevelt Boulevard entryway from the bridge, in background, to West Avenue for flood protection.
  

Ocean City and the county are collaborating on the road project, including the city’s plans to give the 34th Street-Roosevelt Boulevard entryway a facelift.

They have also been working together to make sure there would be no conflicts with the county’s roadway construction and the city’s ongoing $14 million flood-mitigation project for the adjacent Merion Park neighborhood.

Winslow explained that the city is working with local residents to develop concepts for beautifying the 34th Street-Roosevelt Boulevard corridor.

“All of these architectural elements will make this an amazing gateway into town,” he said.

For the past several years, city officials have emphasized their desire – and the need – for the road’s transformation into a more appealing gateway.

    This is the whimsical design for the new welcome sign that will be placed on the 34th Street entryway to greet motorists arriving in the south end of town.
  

Mayor Gillian has mentioned some short-term cosmetic improvements that the city and county are planning to do to 34th Street for the summer. They include patching the road and placing decorative lights in the trees lining 34th Street, he said.

Long-term improvements would include reducing the number of signs by “consolidating” them, Winslow said.

One sign that the 34th Street corridor lacks is a welcome sign. However, the city is planning to install a new welcome sign that would feature the same whimsical, colorful design as the new sign that greets motorists on Ninth Street coming into town.

New landscaping and decorative LED lighting are also part of the beautification plans. The city has not yet decided whether to plant new trees or to keep the twisted and bent pine trees that currently line the roadway’s grassy median strip.

“I guess the idea is that this is going to be a beautiful gateway into town, whatever we decide,” Winslow said.

    Bent and twisted pine trees line the grassy median strip along the 34th Street corridor. It still must be decided whether the trees will stay for the beautification project.