Sandpoint Beach will be temporary closed to the public immediately until further safety measures can be approved.
Windsor city council met on Monday, with a notice of motion being presented by ward 7 councillor Angelo Marignani looking to expedite the Sandpoint Beach Park Master Plan in next year's capital plan, and looking to relocate the swimming zone to the east, and implement additional break walls and fencing to prevent further tragedies.
The motion failed as council wanted to wait for the coroners report to come back, and it was mentioned that it's too late in the season to get the work completed for this year.
A new motion was presented by ward 6 councillor Jo-Anne Gignac and was approved - asking that the beach be closed temporarily until a coroners inquest is completed following a drowning at the beach last month. The motion also asked for conversations to continue with administration to expedite the Master Plan.
This motion came forward after a 15-year-old boy drowned at the beach on May 19.
Marignani says it's a beautiful beach but it needs to be safe.
"There's nothing more Canadian than going to one of our Great Lakes on a hot summer day and just putting your feet in the water, and then going to sit underneath a tree. So it's very much our heritage, it's very much our culture. Moving forward I will be doing my best to ensure that Sandpoint Beach is a wonderful place for everyone to enjoy."
Gignac says this is a good time to look at further measures and determine if it's safe to swim in that area.
"And if you really stop and think about it and look at the area, I think you're going to decide that maybe we should wait for the coroners report, wait and look at the other components that we're considering for that refurbishment of the whole area."
She says this beach closure will need to be addressed by Windsor Police and the city's by-law officers.
"This is a real safety concern. Come on. How many people do we have to watch do into the water and not come out? And there are always going to be people that say 'the beach is there, I should have the right to go in', well, you better have a healthy respect for what that river is capable of doing."
How exactly the beach will be closed off has not yet been decided.
Since the beach opened in 1980, nine people have drowned in the water near Sandpoint Beach.
The proposed Sandpoint Beach Park Master Plan calls for the relocation of the beach east to steer clear of a steep drop-off and strong currents at the western edge, where the Detroit River meets Lake St. Clair. The estimated price tag to move and revitalize the beach area is $15-million.