34th Street Ocean City entryway may finally get facelift

Bent, gnarled and twisted, even some of the pine trees lining the 34th Street entryway to Ocean City are unattractive.

They are symbolic of what Ocean City officials believe is a larger issue affecting the entire roadway – it’s ugly.

For the past several years, city officials have emphasized their desire – and the need – to give 34th Street a facelift to make it a more inviting gateway for the visitors arriving in the south end of town.

Now, it may finally happen.

Fourth Ward Councilman Dave Winslow, who represents the southern part of the city, said plans are underway to resurface the road, remove some of the unsightly signs and spruce up the landscaping to create “a beautiful sense of arrival” on 34th Street.

“All of that, unfortunately, is taking some time. It’s in the works. But I’m very pleased with where we’re going, and I can’t wait to see the finished product,” Winslow said while giving an update on the plans during Thursday night’s City Council meeting.

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.

    Fourth Ward Councilman Dave Winslow believes that 34th Street should give visitors "a beautiful sense of arrival."
  

Winslow met with the county engineer Thursday to discuss plans to resurface the 34th Street-Roosevelt Boulevard corridor from the bridge to West Avenue in Ocean City. The project is expected to begin this fall and be completed by spring 2026, he said.

Also, there are plans to hire an urban planner or architect to improve the roadway’s haphazard landscaping and fading signage, Winslow explained.

“There are 30 different signs. Some you can’t read. Some are for businesses and organizations that don’t even exist anymore. We’ll consolidate all of that,” he said of removing some of the blight.

There are plans to hold a town hall meeting sometime in May to give local residents a presentation on 34th Street’s overhaul.

Years ago, 34th Street was a “very sleepy road,” but it now serves as a major artery into town, Winslow said. It is the second-busiest entryway into Ocean City, behind the Ninth Street corridor downtown.

“I think everybody up here agrees that 34th Street is equally as important as Ninth Street,” Third Ward Councilman Jody Levchuk said during Thursday’s meeting.

Levchuk indicated that everyone should probably be patient as plans move forward between the city and county for the road’s transformation into a more appealing gateway.

“I think it’s going to be great. A couple of years, probably, right? This isn’t a tomorrow thing, working with the county. There’s slow progress, but I’m sure it’s there. It’s equally as important as Ninth Street. There’s no doubt about it,” Levchuk said.

    Traffic heads into town off the 34th Street Bridge.
  

Ocean City resident Dave Breeden, who lives in the Fourth Ward, told Council that 34th Street has been overlooked while the city has concentrated on jazzing up the appearance of Ninth Street.

For starters, Breeden wants the city to place a new welcome sign on 34th Street that would feature the same whimsical, colorful design as the new sign that greets motorists on Ninth Street coming into town.

“Ninth Street looks wonderful. It’s clean, it’s spotless. That same courtesy should be extended to 34th Street,” said Breeden, who also serves as president of Fairness In Taxes, a local government watchdog group.

Mayor Jay Gillian 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.

“We’re going to take care of it,” Gillian vowed.

Levchuk and Breeden praised Winslow for his efforts to improve 34th Street. Soon after Winslow joined Council in 2023, he began talking about the need for a more inviting entryway.

“For quite some time, we’ve been working on improving the 34th Street gateway. Since I got on Council, that was one of the first things that I brought up and thought needed to be done,” he said.

Winslow’s predecessor, former Fourth Ward Councilman Bob Barr, also pushed to have 34th Street improved. Barr, who now serves as a Cape May County commissioner, thought that even the pine trees planted on a grassy median strip along the corridor were ugly. Some of them are bent over and twisted – part of the aesthetically challenged landscaping for the road.

    Motorists are greeted by twisted pine trees lining the road's grassy median strip.