The city is going to install even more fencing around a section of Sandpoint Beach in Windsor in the aftermath of the most recent drowning's in that area.
Council voted Monday to direct administration to install even more fencing to block off the western end of the beach in an area from Riverside Drive to the current fence near the waterline, further restricting the beach area near the existing 8-foot tall fence running parallel to the water.
The decision to add additional fencing, 230 feet in length, will result in a decrease of the overall size of the beach from 54,000 sq ft to 46,000 sq ft or a 15% reduction.
On May 23, 25-year-old Yogesh Bajgai and 22-year-old Rohit Dheer went swimming just west of the beach when they suddenly went underwater and did not resurface.
Bajgai was a refugee who relocated from the Bhutanese Refugee Camp Goldhap to Canada, while Dheer was an international student and was set to graduate from St. Clair College this month.
The pair had climbed over a fence from a neighbouring property before entering the water where the Detroit River meets Lake St. Clair, an area that includes a sharp drop off, strong currents and undertow, making it a dangerous area for any swimmer.
Following the incident, the city installed more signs advising people not to swim in the water off that part of the beach and an eight-foot tall fence was installed running parallel to the water.
Windsor Port Authority Harbour Master Peter Berry appeared before council Monday and encouraged the city to close off that section of beach and make it unattractive for anyone to use, explaing how deadly the currents are in that area.
"Even if there had been people there that day that could swim to save those two men, we probably would have lost more people," Berry told council. "Had there been a lifeguard there, we probably would have lost a lifeguard."
Detailed design plans to upgrade and remake Sandpoint Beach are expected to come to council in 2025.
Since the beach opened in 1980, eight people have drowned in the water near there, including the two most recent cases.