When Windsor city councillors meet next, they'll decide whether to endorse a plan to improve safety at Sandpoint Beach.
Over the past 15 years, eight people have drowned at the beach, prompting some officials to urge the city to move the beach further east where a steep drop off in the Detroit River, fast currents, and a vicious rip tide won't pose a risk.
The latest drownings were last May when 25-year-old Yogesh Bajgai and 22-year-old Rohit Dheer jumped into the water and never resurfaced.
Harbour Master Peter Barry didn't mince his words when he gave the city council an update on the drowning weeks later.
"Even if there had been people there that day that could swim to save those two young men, we probably would have lost more people," said Barry, describing how the men walked off the shelf into 30 feet of water. "Had there been a lifeguard, we probably would have lost a lifeguard."
The drownings occurred before the city's lifeguard service started in early June.
Problems at Sandpoint Beach have been known for years after a safety audit by the Lifesaving Society in 2012 identified 17 recommendations. The list included restricting the western edge of the beach.
Landmark Engineers was hired to complete a master plan and environmental assessment for moving the beach further east and away from the drop-off.
The plan, which will be debated when Windsor city councillors meet on January 13, also recommends a list of improvements at the beach, including a new splash pad, an accessible playground, updated washrooms, a pavilion, and more tree cover. It also calls for natural barriers like rock revetments to discourage swimming on the western edge of Sandpoint.
A report to councillors projects the cost at $15-million. The city anticipates paying the cost out of its ten-year capital budget.
