Latest news with #SandpointBeach
CTV News
17-06-2025
- General
- CTV News
City moves forward with no access to water at Sandpoint Beach
Fence posts were hammered into the ground Tuesday morning. 'I never thought, and those big posts,' said a startled Pam Morley Cooke as she spent time at Sandpoint Beach with her grandson. 'The post they're putting in, scaring him (grandson) so we have to leave.' Morley Cooke was at the beach when workers started installing fence posts. 'It's really sad to see that going, but they have to do something to keep people safe right now. But there's other solutions to this, and they didn't look at that,' said Morley Cooke, who feels the city could have acted years ago. City Councillor Angelo Marignani dropped in to see what was going on. 'What we're really missing here is the quality of life that we kind of gave up to our residents,' Marignani said. 'What we're missing here is the investment, the development, the tourism.' A 15-year-old drowned in May. Two men in their 20's fell victim in the same area in 2024. The issue is the dangerous current. The Windsor Port Authority estimates the current flow pushes downward at 10-15 km per hour. Just up the shore at Stop 26, the Port Authority estimates the current is half the speed with no under tow for at least a couple of hundred metres straight in from that beach area. That is why Marignani feels the beach should be moved. 'We know this information. We can engineer it so that it is safe. We could do our best as a city, and we can make this area, this park, a gem that it should be carrying.' City officials say Stop 26 will remain open for kayaks and canoes, but there will be signs discouraging swimming in the river. 'There's nothing to stop a swimmer once they enter that area of traveling west and finding ourselves in the same situation that previous swimmers have, where there's been a tragedy,' said Michael Chantler, commissioner of community services. Installation of the fencing is expected to be completed on Wednesday. Lifeguards will remain on site until the end of the week. 'They're going to continue that process of educating the public as they arrive to the beach and let them know that they can enjoy the sand, enjoy the park,' Chantler told CTV News. He's hopeful residents don't decide to hop the fence. 'They're taking their lives into their own hands if they do that, and all we can do is educate them that they should make the choice not to enter the water.' Marignani hopes the fencing is a quick temporary solution, but the embattled beach is at the mercy of a coroner's inquest into the latest drowning. The timing of a report is unknown.
CTV News
17-06-2025
- Climate
- CTV News
Sandpoint Beach fencing
Windsor Watch Fencing going up to block all access to Sandpoint Beach. CTV Windsor's Bob Bellacicco explains.
CBC
14-06-2025
- CBC
Will Windsor relocate Sandpoint Beach or shut it down permanently?
Social Sharing Windsor could be without a beach to swim in this summer after city council unanimously approved shutting down Sandpoint Beach and Stop 26 until a corner's report into the latest drowning is complete. The corner's office says that could take months to finish. But some on council wonder if the city should ever allow people to swim in the area again now that at least 9 people have drowned in the area since beach opened in 1980. "There is no way that I think we can offer to the public a safe swimming environment," said Coun. Jo-Anne Gignac during a city council meeting this week. Gignac made the comments before council unanimously agreed to indefinitely close the beach while staff revisit the master plan to redevelop the beach. The most recent drownings have occurred before the beach officially opened for the season and without lifeguards at the beach. Safety officials blame a sudden underwater drop off and strong whirlpool like currents immediately west of Sandpoint Beach for the drownings in the area. Gignac said the initial plan to relocate the beach further east was done in good faith but said "it's not going to be presented to the public as a safe place to swim. Ever." Coun. Kieran McKenzie said ending swimming in the area is something to consider. "I don't want to signal to the community that I'm prepared to eliminate swimming altogether in that space but it's on the table," said McKenzie. Coun. Angelo Marginani, who has advocated to have the beach moved even before being elected to council, agreed to close the beach until the coroner's report is finished. But he wants to see council fund the $15 million master plan to redevelop the area to keep Windsor's only beach open. "I believe the cost is not what we spend but what we fail to gain," said Marginani. Windsor city council earlier this week opted to close Sandpoint Beach pending the outcome of a coroner's investigation after a 15-year-old died swimming at the beach in May. But why is the water so dangerous? The CBC's Chris Ensing explains. A spokesperson for the corner's office said that the final report will not be made public because of privacy laws and will not be shared with the city. However, if the investigation turns up any recommendations, those will be shared with the city. Council reviewed a safety audit about the beach in 2013. It recommended council consider relocating the beach to a safer area because of the sudden shift in the water currents and depths on the western side of the beach. Here's how the idea to relocate Sandpoint Beach has moved through council over the years: 2012: City council lists the redevelopment of Sandpoint Beach and Stop 26 in the capital budget for after 2017 2013: City council receives a safety audit from the Lifesaving Society that recommends the city "consider closing the beach in favour of moving it eastwards" and "at a minimum" fence off the western portion. The city installs a metre tall fence for $10,000. 2014: The budget earmarks $5 million for the closure of the western side of Sandpoint Beach and new water access further east. The timeline is sometime after 2019. 2018: Council asks how much it will cost for preliminary study to relocate Sandpoint Beach. Staff suggest it will cost $250,000 to study. 2019: The capital budget sets aside $250,000 for the study in 2024 and $5 million for the relocation beyond 2026. 2021: In May, a 24 year old drowns while swimming at Sandpoint Beach, the sixth person to die while swimming in the area since the beach opened in 1980. At a press conference weeks later, Mayor Drew Dilkens calls the relocation a high priority. Council decides to pay for the study to start in 2021. 2022: Public consultations start which shows a relocation design that closes western edge of the beach and lengthens beach access on the eastern edge of the beach. The expected relocation costs doubles to $10 million. 2023: The budget earmarks $1 million spread across 2024 and 2025 for the relocation of the beach with an additional $900,000 from 2028 to 2030. A master plan for the redevelopment of Sandpoint Beach is completed in November. 2024: In May, two young men drown near Sandpoint Beach, the seventh and eighth people to die in the area while swimming. Council installs taller fences at the western edge of the beach. An updated master plan is presented to council but deferred to early 2025. The city's capital budget shuffles the money around so that there is $1.5 million between 2029 and 2030. Relocating the beach is now expected to cost $15 million. 2025: In January, council approves the master plan, which will close of the western portion of the beach and extend the eastern beach. Council directs staff to consider funding as part of future capital budgets with Dilkens saying it will take years to complete. In May, a 15 year old boy drowns while swimming at the beach. City council decides to close the beach until a coroner's report is complete.
CBC
13-06-2025
- CBC
Windsor's Sandpoint Beach is closed. Here's why it can be so dangerous for swimmers
Windsor city council earlier this week opted to close Sandpoint Beach pending the outcome of a coroner's investigation after a 15-year-old died swimming at the beach in May. But why is the water so dangerous? The CBC's Chris Ensing explains.
CTV News
12-06-2025
- General
- CTV News
Sandpoint Beach in transition as future remains suspended
The Port Authority says it will attempt to make Sandpoint Beach unattractive to users. CTV Windsor's Bob Bellacicco looks at how. A first sign of change at Sandpoint Beach happened on Thursday afternoon when buoys were removed by staff, as the next chapter begins at the troubled waterfront hot spot. 'We know that putting up signs didn't work,' Port Authority CEO Steve Salmons pointed out. 'We know the city putting up a fence didn't work.' The City of Windsor has control of the area where a 15 year old drowned last month, but it's handing back the property to its owner, the Port Authority. 'We as a port now have an issue that on January 1st it reverts to our property. It now becomes our problem, our liability.' Salmons plans to make sure the dangerous part of the beach is inaccessible. 'We are now in discussions of what designs can we undertake to make that location on the beach as unattractive, to discourage people from swimming.' Salmons said the plan could include an offshore structure, like the one found near the pier next to the Ambassador Bridge, which would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. 'It can be as simple as just removing the sand, but when it's hot, people will want to go in the water, so I think we're going to have to look at probably a number of treatments,' Salmons said. 'Much heavier grasses where people don't want to walk into the grasses. This is a study that is ongoing. What I can assure you is that by January 1st, we will have a solution in place.' Salmons said his harbourmaster is in discussion with other ports that have beaches or waterfronts where swimming is discouraged. The city's Sandpoint Beach Masterplan is on hold until an inquest into the latest drowning is complete. Whatever the ultimate plan, the port plans to play a supportive role. In the meantime, the city continues to implement a plan to close off swimming access by the end of the month. 'There are still great opportunities to enjoy the park land and the sand portion, the playground and all of those areas and amenities are still open to the public,' said James Chacko, director of parks, facilities and recreation. The city said staff will continue their role at the beach as ambassadors and will educate the public on the changes until they are reassigned.
