MUSKEGON, Mich. — A proposal floated during a City of Muskegon work session this week considered installing a safety barrier to curb water emergencies at a local beach.
Specifically, the south breakwater at Pere Marquette Beach behind the Deck Restaurant.
If adopted, the gate—which would rise to approximately chest level—would be closed during periods of rough weather to discourage access.
The gate, the city manager’s office noted during a Wednesday phone call, would feature signage notifying violators they could be ticketed.
It’s close, Public Safety Director Timothy Kozal explained, to gates installed in South Haven and in Ludington, where he served previously. In practice, Kozal said, the barrier functioned as an extra set of hands and made the public aware of unsafe conditions.
“We’d like to avoid any type of tragedy, any call-out of public safety personnel, because we’re going to come, we’re going to try to assist,” Kozal related. “It’s probably a situation where we shouldn’t be out there trying to rescue somebody. We as first-responders are going to wind up being swept away too. Tragically we could lose not only the person we came there to assist or save, but also lose a firefighter or law enforcement.”
Several locals on the beach at Pere Marquette Wednesday appeared to agree with Kozal’s assessment. Stopping during a bike ride, Cherie Eaton expressed a sense of gratitude amid what she viewed as a series of preventable tragedies:
“Too many times do we hear the choppers. Our hearts go out to their families,” Eaton said. “A lot of times, guys come out here together and leave without one of them. I just feel like if there’s anything we can do to remind people to be safe here, we should do it.”
The gate, the city manager’s office said, would cost approximately $1000.
The proposal has yet to undergo the formal approvals process, but based upon its reception by city leaders, proponents were hopeful it would receive the go-ahead during a future commission meeting.
A full video of the Monday, May 8 work session can be found on the City's YouTube page.
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