The Town Beach parking areas, particularly the South parking area has flooding more frequently from smaller precipitation events. The primary source of flooding is due to rainwater roadway runoff that sheds to the East on Corn Neck Road into the South parking area. Further, the concrete pad between the North and South lots blocks water flow from the North to South lot, flooding the southern edge of the North lot until the water is high enough to overtop the pad and flow to the South lot. These features create standing water during precipitation events.

The Town Beach Pavillion is vulnerable to coastal storm events because of its location, in line with the dunes and where dunes would likely be if the pavilion wasn’t built. Both the North and South sides of the pavilion also have had the dunes removed for public and emergency access to the beach. The Town Beach parking areas have flooded during large coastal storm events from wave runup and overtopping under and around the Town beach Pavillion, where dunes have been removed.

Scotch Beach Road contains a low-lying parking area just East of Corn Neck Road and a mixed sand and cobble path for walking and public driving access to the beach. The parking area is vulnerable to surface water runoff from the roadway during precipitation events. The parking area and road are also vulnerable to wave overwash from the beach, running down the access pathway during large storm events. Flooding is increased due to the area’s low elevation and near-surface groundwater and groundwater mounding, particularly as sea levels rise.

Dune beach access pathways have damages from a combination of pedestrian foot, car, and cart traffic as well as coastal erosion due to storm events. Pedestrian damage of the dune system is primarily caused by flattening and moving sand and stepping on young plants trying to establish and stabilize the dunes. This is particularly pronounced on the seaward edge of the dunes where pedestrians “fan out” to access various areas of the beach, widening the openings on the seaward side, and reducing dune height and limiting vegetation growth. The dune heights make the dunes more vulnerable to overtopping and overwash from large coastal storm events.

The coastal revetment along the southern end of Corn Neck Road is located within feet of the edge of the roadway, is very steep, and has a toe that is submerged daily due to normal high tides, leaving the revetment susceptible to damage from wave action. The steepness of the revetment increases its vulnerability to a stability failure during a coastal storm event, which could then, due to its proximity, damage or undermine the roadway. Smaller armor stones mixed throughout the revetment could also shift during smaller storm events, which may lead to larger failures.

Marsh, along the western edge of the roadway is vulnerable under projected sea level rise scenarios and indicates a consistent pattern of landward marsh migration. This landward shift will likely result in marsh loss at the seaward boundary and expansion landward into adjacent upland areas, bordering the roadway. Hardened shorelines, such as Corn Neck Road limit the landward movement. Further, sea level rise will induce mortality in less salt-tolerant vegetation, resulting in marsh encroachment on the western side of Corn Neck Road, and potentially reducing the debris obstruction larger shrubs have on shielding the roadway following significant coastal flooding.