{"id":423521,"date":"2026-10-09T18:22:03","date_gmt":"2026-10-09T18:22:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/423521\/"},"modified":"2026-10-09T18:22:03","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T18:22:03","slug":"coquina-key-park-lagoon-could-become-vessel-exclusion-zone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/423521\/","title":{"rendered":"Coquina Key Park lagoon could become vessel exclusion zone"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. \u2014 St. Petersburg City Council will soon consider an ordinance that would create a vessel exclusion zone in the lagoon at Coquina Key Park, aiming to make the area safer for paddle boarders and non-motorized boaters.<\/p>\n<p>The ordinance would prevent boats with motors from entering the cove. Its first reading is scheduled for Oct. 15.<\/p>\n<p>St. Petersburg Councilwoman Gina Driscoll said boats in the lagoon have created concerns.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt creates an atmosphere that\u2019s really not very safe,\u201d Driscoll said. \u201cAlso, you have environmental issues with leakage and things like that when the boats decide to hang out for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Robby Thurston, CEO of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jacksshackstpete.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Jack\u2019s Shack St. Pete Paddle Board Rentals<\/a>, said Coquina Key Park is already a popular place for paddlers because of its access and setting.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s got great entry points, free parking. It\u2019s pretty excluded, not too much traffic for boats, and it\u2019s a peaceful time on the water,\u201d Thurston said.<\/p>\n<p>Thurston said his business does about 20 rentals a weekend. He said paddleboards offer people a convenient way to get outside and spend time on the water.<\/p>\n<p>If the ordinance passes, Driscoll said the cove would become a safer place for people of all skill levels to paddle. The ordinance would be suspended during a state of emergency, allowing boaters looking for a safe place during a storm to use the cove.<\/p>\n<p>Thurston said he supports the proposed change.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think it\u2019s fantastic,\u201d he said. \u201cIt really gives paddlers a place to launch from that\u2019s safe and secure, and it kind of gives them that distance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The second reading for the ordinance is scheduled for Nov. 5, 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. \u2014 St. Petersburg City Council will soon consider an ordinance that would create a vessel&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":423522,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[770,1563,2200,2287,99,202,204,203,199,201,200,135,2032,1374],"class_list":["post-423521","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-st-petersburg","tag-community-news","tag-environment","tag-instagram-bn9","tag-local-politics","tag-politics","tag-st-pete","tag-st-pete-headlines","tag-st-pete-news","tag-st-petersburg","tag-st-petersburg-headlines","tag-st-petersburg-news","tag-tampa","tag-trending-topics","tag-tyler-oneill"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/423521","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=423521"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/423521\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/423522"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=423521"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=423521"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=423521"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}