by joewp » Tue 27 May 2008, 23:49:02
This is what less driving is doing to my area:
Economy Keeps Jersey Shore Travelers At Bay
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')Shore towns and businesses usually get a good indication from Memorial Day how they'll fare the rest of the season. The beautiful weather has many thinking it may well be a good one.
But with so many rentals still available on the shore, that may not be the case. Many beach-goers say it wasn't much of a problem finding a great deal on a house at the shore.
"It was $11,500 this summer, which was reasonable – a house 12 blocks from the beach," said Belmar renter John Candiano.
And they say there were a lot of homes to choose from.
"Rentals have been down year after year, but there are a lot of vacancies this year," said realtor Steven Weckstein.
And realtors say some owners are willing to take much less this season for their rentals.
"I'd say around 10 to 20 percent because they'd rather have someone in the house than leave it vacant," said Weckstein.
One landlord told CBS 2 he's getting 25 percent less for his rental. He owns 65 properties.
"Lake Como and Belmar areas are extremely soft," he said.
A few people I know that have businesses on the boardwalk in Seaside Heights and Point Pleasant said there was a little less people, but they were spending a lot less. Jersey shore towns depend on Memorial Day to Labor Day for their income for the year. If they don't get it, they'll go bankrupt. I was at Belmar Beach on Sunday and it was about 3/4 of a normal Memorial Day.
The newest trend is the "Staycation":
One of many, check Goolge News $this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '
')As the summer travel season begins this weekend, there is plenty to be frustrated about. It costs us more to drive, more to fly, more to eat and more to sleep once we get there.
At home, meanwhile, we feel pinched by higher grocery bills, tight credit and slow-growing wages.
The result?
Fewer vacations. Shorter distances. Not as many days on the road.
It already shows up in the mobility numbers.
In March, we drove 11 billion fewer miles than that month the previous year, the biggest year-over-year drop for any month since the Federal Highway Administration started tracking the information in 1942.
And just last week, a new Zogby poll of 8,600 adults found that one-third planned no vacation at all this summer, and 28 percent said they would spend less.
Another survey recently found that the number of people expecting to travel by fall had dipped to a 30-year low.
And just to irk you "soft landers" a little bit more, lower driving means less gas taxes, which means less money to maintain the roads, which means broken axles on 3,000 mile Caesar Salad trucks, just like Kunstler has predicted over and over again.
I think people like jbeck, OF2, KTH and JD have blinders one that won't let them see the insidious nature of what we're headed into.