TREASURE ISLAND, Fla. — The sound of construction trucks fills Sunset Beach every day.
"I feel like it's making it take longer...I love the beach, that's why I moved out here," said David Cole, a resident of Sunset Beach.
Cole has lived on Sunset Beach for a year and said he's been keeping an eye on the area since the beach shut down.
"It makes me a little upset that people don't care about the rules," said Cole.
The beach is closed as Pinellas County and Treasure Island work to restore dunes after Hurricane Idalia destroyed much of the beach back in August.
"Stay off the beach and the dunes because when you get on the dunes and trample those dunes, you're doing damage to this multi-million dollar project that's been going on for the last three weeks," said Jason Beisel with the City of Treasure Island.
It's a problem also happening at Bellair Beach.
County and city leaders are warning people to stay off the dunes, and Jason Beisel said, unfortunately, people haven't been listening.
"Since Friday, it's been pretty often because of the waves. There's larger than normal waves on the Gulf. You get a lot of waves on the Gulf, and when you do, you've got all those people who are surfers who want to come out here and jump on their surfboard and go out there, so we are seeing a lot more because of that," said Beisel.
Officials with Treasure Island say right now, they are just warning families to avoid the area, but if people become repeat offenders, they will start issuing fines.
Beisel said right now, workers are planting native plants to keep the dunes in place, and as more people continue to ignore no trespassing signs, the longer the project will take.
"It's like a sand castle. If you step on it and knock it over, that's exactly what you're doing to the dune when you walk over it," said Beisel.
Cole said it's a problem he sees too often.
"There are some people who walk their dogs up and down the beach now that it's not crowded, and I see a lot of people setting out blankets. I see tents, canopies, everything," said Cole.
He hopes people will start listening to the signs so he can get back to the beach he loves so much.
"If you just waited a little bit longer, it would open twice as fast and be ready for everybody to go out," said Cole.
