​Readers wade in on closure of piers in Kincardine

To the Editor:
RE: “Open Kincardine piers and let people make their own decisions, says reader”

I used to live in Kincardine many years ago.

I am very familiar with the north and south piers, only I would walk on them knowing that I wasn't a strong enough swimmer to jump in the water. This was the same decision that I made from Grade 6 through 12, as a child and teenager.

I would like to know where common sense has disappeared to today? Do we have to penalize those who do have it, in order to protect those who do not?

Put the signs up and install new ladders, if needed. Then, let the people decide for themselves if common sense is, in fact, common!

Diane Kirby
Calgary, Alberta
 

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To the Editor:

I strongly agree with Mark's letter to the editor.

The piers are safe if people are responsible. People have been fishing and walking out on the piers for years. Unfortunately, today, people don't take responsibility for their own actions.

A notice saying that waves can come over top of the piers and that caution should be used when winds are high, could be posted.

Also, the ladders need to be replaced and more of them installed.

Carole Robertson
Kincardine
 

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To the Editor:

The piers, themselves, are inherently safe. The municipality needs to put ladders in that are completely visible and go six feet under the water. As it stands now, someone making the rational decision to jump in the water near a ladder only to find no rungs under the water surface is set up for failure. This is absolutely neglect by the municipality to make the piers safe.

If you were to look at things, the piers are used, in large, by fishermen and people walking out to see the world-famous sunsets Kincardine is known for. Essentially, walking out on a 30-foot-wide sidewalk, yet we have no problems with people walking on a sidewalk three feet from cars whizzing by?

Riptide is not an issue at the end of the piers; riptides occur close to shore. If we really want to save people from dying in riptides, shut down the beach. There are parts of a shipwreck that have spikes coming up from them that are absolutely not marked; that is dangerous.

The no-swimming-zone signs on the beach are pretty much as far away from the water’s edge as possible; anyone walking down the beach will not even see them. Educate people with signs at the beach exposing what riptides are and what a person should do if caught in one. Place signs in high-traffic areas. I would hazard a guess that far more people have drowned along the Kincardine shoreline entering the lake from the beach than off the pier.

Rescuers understand what they are signing up for. Rescuers are also trained to assess the situation. They are trained not to try and save someone if it will put their lives in danger. They don’t go into burning buildings to save someone if they don’t think it is somewhat safe to do so. Unfortunately, by the time 911 is called, and the volunteer first-responders muster and make it to the scene, it is usually a recovery operation not a rescue operation.

People need to supervise their children and if an adult, understand your swimming ability. If you can’t swim, why would you ever jump into the biggest deep end of the biggest “pool” you have ever been around? This is all about risk assessment, another term being common sense.

​​Drowning deaths are absolutely devastating. Any time a healthy person leaves the house and doesn’t come home, it is devastating.

Mark
Kincardine