The sands of time have come for the boardwalk. (Getty)

Just under a year ago, plans to replace the beloved Coney Island boardwalk with concrete were reveled. Sure, it would solve the problems of splinters and loose planks, but it's a boardwalk for godsakes, operative word being board. Locals tried to come up with alternatives, like a concrete median that would still have wood on one or both sides, but the Parks Department refused, and so the boardwalk will be paved, The Brooklyn Paper reports.

The plan is expected to be approved by the Public Design Commission later this month — and likely lead to the paving of the rest of the Boardwalk, part of a long-stated city goal of replacing the costlier wood from Manhattan Beach to Sea Gate, except for a four-block section in the historic amusement district between W. 15th and W. 10th streets.

Opponents are furious. “The Boardwalk is historic,” said Brighton Beach resident Ida Sanoff, who opposes a concrete makeover. “It’s not a sidewalk.”

All this because the police want to drive on the boardwalk, which does undue damage to the wood. They say it is for emergency services reasons, but The Observer knows better. Three words: babes in bikinis.

mchaban [at] observer.com | @MC_NYC