The Town of Essex is working to make Colchester Beach as safe as possible for its users.
During Monday's meeting, council was given a report with an update on a comprehensive safety audit of Colchester Beach and the waterfront by the Lifesaving Society.
In June 2023, council asked for an audit to be done for a guide on ways to ensure beach safety is increased.
A safety plan based on the findings from operations, policies and procedures, capital plans, resources, staffing, water testing, and the environment, was provided to council on Monday.
Primary concerns from the audit showed the Town needed to improve a few aspects, such as a designated safe swimming area that's clearly identified with reinstalled buoy's and new signs with a map of the permitted areas, installing lifesaving stations in designated areas, and for staff to install lifesaving equipment along the beach, which includes a life ring, reaching pole, and appropriate signage.
Jake Morassut, Director of Community Services with the Town, says they are trying to make the beach as safe as possible.
"They're asking for us to conduct a review of the public access pier, and again a lot of that's related to signage. Ensure beach signage is updated, and ensure frequent lake water testing is completed and posted."
Morassut says they want to have as few signs as possible.
"We're looking at making a couple of larger signs with more content on it, rather than having sporadic signs with separated information. So, we want it to look clean, we want it to be there with the information that's required as part of the report, but we are looking to consolidate everything into as few signs as possible."
Vince Murphy, Assistant Manager of Parks and Facilities with the Town, says the signs will include a range of information.
"The beach goers can be notified of the beach conditions, the life safety stations, they can also be notified where the defibrillator stations are, emergency first aid, contact information if there's an emergency that happens on the beach."
The Town has already been working on these improvements, with all improvements expected to be completed this year.
At this time, there is no additional budget costs associated with these improvements, as administration is utilizing approved Parks and Facilities budget funding.
