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State Aims to Give A1A Special Status: The State Department of Transportation is Considering Designating A1A, From Deerfield Beach to Hallandale Beach, an Official Scenic Highway Through Broward

Posted on: Monday, 3 April 2006, 06:00 CDT

By Erika Bolstad, The Miami Herald

Apr. 3--Top down, music up, you could drive all 28 miles of A1A from Deerfield Beach to Hallandale Beach without ever leaving your car.

But this is a journey, not a destination, and the best part of A1A isn't even on A1A. It's in the smell of the corn dogs and the Coppertone on the Deerfield Beach pier, in the crunch of sand between your toes at the wave wall in Fort Lauderdale, and best of all, in the wide-open aquamarine views of the sea.

So get out of the car, because nearly every mile along A1A has a spot to stop and jump in the ocean, to eat a seaside meal or drink a fruity cocktail under an umbrella, to catch a fish, get a tan, spike a volleyball, buy an ice-cream cone . . . to let your dog swim in the surf or to watch pale-as-the-Canadian-snow tourists turning red in teeny swimsuits.

These are just some of the reasons the state Department of Transportation is considering designating A1A an official scenic highway through Broward County.

It's an honor held in South Florida only by the Tamiami Trail across the Everglades and the stretch of U.S. 1 to the Keys. Landing the designation takes lots of red tape and master plans and public meetings with charts and maps on easels.

But don't let that spoil the fun. Discover your own A1A, starting at the top of the map, in Deerfield Beach.

Here, A1A curves around the seaside village, and traffic slows as pedestrians dash across the busy one-lane stretch. Park at the fishing pier or one of the metered spots along Ocean Way. It's $1 for sightseeing and $4 to fish. But it costs nothing to walk the one-mile length of the city's beach and back.

Head south to Hillsboro Beach. The ocean recedes from view behind the only true beachfront houses in the county. Most are obscured by landscaping and gates, so the best view is to the right, where the grand Intracoastal waterfront homes compete for your attention.

Notice the road sign, with its S-shaped symbol. Where else will you see one of those, in grid-like, gridlocked South Florida? Don't go too fast -- police here love to ticket. If you're in a hurry, well, you're on the wrong road.

Next stop, Hillsboro Inlet. For the postcard view, park at the small city lot across from the lighthouse and capture a photo. There's a playground and there are picnic benches, and the fishing area is sheltered from the wind and the sun by the A1A drawbridge over the inlet.

"You can watch the fishing boats go out," said Ray Gannon, 70, as he struggled recently with a new baitfish net. "Later in the day, they come back with their catches."

Moving south, there are the fishing piers in Pompano Beach and Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. Pompano Beach has an especially lovely, wide beach, with a Brazilian flair; Portuguese is widely spoken here.

Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, with a whole range of sidewalk cafes, is a great spot to stop for lunch or ice cream. Stroll the village, but make sure to feed the meter. There's no such thing as free parking in this town, which retains the air of a quaint seaside escape by limiting the height of buildings.

Then, it's the condo canyons of Fort Lauderdale. This could be any strip-mall stretch in South Florida, but be patient. A reward is ahead.

EXPANSIVE SEA VIEW

And here it is. Just south of Oakland Park, the road opens to an expansive view framed by the sea and the sea oats, and the undulating wave wall along Fort Lauderdale beach.

Go early in the morning to find joggers and the ocean view. On a weekend, it's packed, but keep an eye peeled for one of the free parking spots -- what could be better?

"We just come for the parking," admitted French-Canadian tourist Louise Brousseau, 56, as she and her family loaded beach chairs into the trunk of their Mazda.

The unobstructed ocean view is thanks to David Clifford Alexander, who in 1917 planned Fort Lauderdale beach with no construction east of the highway. In 1953, 1986 and again in 1990, voters affirmed that they wanted to keep it that way.

Here, they say, is where the boys are. And the girls. This stretch is lively with cruising teens in the moonlight, and bikini-clad tourists in the sun. Everyone, at least once, must stop for a drink at the Elbo Room, just to say they've been.

Julio Sanchez watched the action recently from the east side of Las Olas and A1A.

Sanchez spends his days as a driver, so he knows a good road. On his days off, the Dominican Republic native hops on his beat-up red Schwinn and rides along A1A -- sometimes as far as Miami Beach. When he tires, he heads west toward a Tri-Rail station.

"Follow the beach," advised Sanchez, 44. "It's as scenic as it gets."

The southern stretch of A1A is a daylong adventure of its own. But if you have the energy and the time, take the 17th Street Causeway to U.S. 1, then head south.

Don't forget to take in the view from the 17th Street Causeway bridge; park and walk if you want photos.

To the north, look for the magnificent yachts in the foreground and the skyscrapers of downtown Fort Lauderdale in the background. Look south, and find the cruise ships docked at Port Everglades.

Then, return to A1A at Dania Beach Boulevard. Just south, past the fishing pier in Dania Beach, it's 56 easy steps up the observation tower at Hollywood North Beach Park -- although the view isn't as great now that a condo is going up to the south.

Next stop, the Johnson Street band shell and the Broadwalk -- the Main Street of Hollywood Beach.

Park in the Johnson Street garage or find a metered spot on the street, because you can spend all day or night here, watching the multinational, all shapes and all-ages parade that makes this the best place in South Florida for people-watching.

Most early spring days, the Hollywood Broadwalk is a sea of umbrellas, surrounded by the soft syllables of French, as Canadian tourists make Hollywood their winter home.

Return to A1A for a quick lesson in the history of Broward County real estate, from the rinky-dink 1920s hotels in Hollywood to the condos that fueled the retiree boom of the 1970s, to the most visible symbol of the county's recent real estate boom, the massive Diplomat Hotel.

END OF THE JOURNEY

The beach ball water tower in Hallandale Beach marks the end of the journey, but don't venture home along Hallandale Beach Boulevard; that's a rude traffic awakening for sun-drunk drivers. Make a U-turn and take more scenic Hollywood Boulevard to points west.

At day's end, wipe down your sunscreen-sticky steering wheel, and vacuum the sand from the floorboards. But keep that paper umbrella around to remind you of your day on scenic A1A.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Miami Herald

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Source: The Miami Herald

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