For the past few years our beaches have become more and more popular. With all the tourists coming in from all over the country, our county has had to compensate for traffic, shopping and dinning. All this is good when you consider the income it brings to the residents living here. But with more tourists, we need more parking for vehicles and boats. This has been a challenging problem to solve for the past ten years.

There has been a wonderful proposal made of a five acre parking facility and boat launch in Orange Beach between The Caribe Resort and Ono Island. As a former employee of the Caribe Resort, I know how crowded this area becomes during the summer time. We are in desperate need of better parking and more public access to the water. Why shouldn’t everyone have the opportunity to share this wonderful resource we are lucky enough to have at our finger tips?

I’m reminded of a line from a recent popular movie: “With great power, comes great responsibility.” We have this great resource in our midst, why not make it available for everyone to enjoy? We have the responsibility to share with others. If you do a little research as a concerned citizen of Baldwin County you will find that this facility will not ruin the environment. It will not destroy our beaches. It is only to help the surplus of tourists find ample parking and launching for their boats that will come every summer regardless of whether this is built or not. Those of us who have lived here a while know what a great resource our waterways are and most people welcome the money that comes from outsiders visiting the area.

So why not make a safe public access for boaters to come and utilize what most of us enjoy all year round? The word “selfishness” comes to mind when I read about the complaints others have in opposing this project. It goes back to that same idea I wrote about last week: community support. The majority of community support would welcome such a great facility whether we are boaters or not. Those who are of the community who support public access to waterways would appreciate the work the city of Orange Beach will do to make everyone’s visit a pleasant one.

Make your voice known for the good of all people in our county: Sign the petition to allow this facility to be built. See www.petitiononline.com/oblaunch. By doing so, you are helping our community to improve on an issue that has been a sore spot for a long time.

Loxley resident Valerie J. Steimle is the author of two books, “Home Is Where The Heart Is, A look at strengthening the American Family,” and her latest book, “Home Is Where The Learning Is” (www.amazon.com/gp/product/1403379637). Contact her at valeriesteimle@yahoo.com or visit her website at www.stengthenyourhome.com.