Not to be a naysayer as I would love to see the beach, but how long before it is closed do you think becouse of one or two idiots who chose to ignore the "no swimming" rules, drown and the family's sue the city? [and watching television here, it is not that difficult to find a sue happy lawyer]

Wait till it gets hot outside and somebody who cannot swim or has little open water swimming will dive right into that current there. This happens almost every summer. The smarter and safer idea would have been building a narrow water pool along the shoreline.

It is a hallow idea to create a beach without swimming access.

Guys, Buffalo doesn't think that far ahead.

It would make too much sense to plan for this problem now instead of after the fact.....just doesn't happen that way in Buffalo.

Chicago had this problem as well. They put out wood markers so that people know how far they can go out in the water. The water depth at that point was only 4 feet. It works there, why not here?

Is the no swimming policy that big of a deal? You can't swim in Hoyt Lake either and it doesn't appear to be a problem. Does 'no swimming' mean no entry into the water, or is wading an option? Maybe there is a way to set up a line that people need to stay within - so people can enter the water, but reduce the danger of the current. Does anyone know the depth of the water, within 10 feet of the shore?

i think we just put a nice set of deck or beach chairs out there, maybe some umbrellas.

it would be a very nice place to sit in the sun, by the water, drink some coffee or a lemonade, get a tan.

Relax by the water....people watch....dip your feet in the water.

A beach seems out of place here. And by definition, a beach is where you can swim.

I like the effort though.

Good to see progress. Why can't we instead of saying No Swimming you just say "Use the water at your own risk" or "Swim at your own Risk" with a some legal mumbo jumbo under it that says no one is responsible for your stupidity.

I hate the fact that we need government sanction to use our own resources here or anywhere because people are irresponsible. If someone jumps off a bridge and kills themselves should the family have the right to sue the bridges municipality.. come on how sad has America gotten when we don't have the simple freedom to swim because we need the government to hold our hand.

Keep up the good work, let people make their own decisions about what is safe and isn't. Since safety especially for swimming is something that is different for everyone.

I think this is pretty cool. I've sat on the drift wood in the past, the sand will be a lot more comfortable.

I think you would have to go pretty far out to get caught up in the current. I've kayaked through here and the current is small. The break waters pretty much deflect everything outward. Looking at arieals you can see the sediment flow of the Buffalo River pretty much goes over to the black rock channel, not out to the fast moving niagara.

Knee high wading or getting ones feet wet will not get you sucked out down the river.

I don't think there is much of a current within the harbor. Closures due to sewage overflows are much mre likely I think. In the past, Buffalo used to be a lot closer to the water than today. People have pretty much forgotten. There was swimming, boating, fishing, etc all along the waterfront. People actually lived on the breakwalls, on Squaw Island and other places. There were boathouses, houseboats, harbor ferries everywhere. An example are the water access points in LaSalle Park which have all been cemented closed.

Safety must not be compromised no matter what.

More than ten feet and out and a non-swimmer and a pool -swimmer could lose their life. I have a friend who knows these waters and currents extremely well. He is a Great Lakes waterman. He goes into the lake year round. Therse things I relate here are iwhat he has told me.

There is no way that this will sell to the government and a family of a victim who drownds.

The Seaplane Boat Launch ramp was guard railed and closed off with no swimming signs after a young child ventured beyond the shallows and probably had a panic attack and drownd. I believe this was not the first time. The ramp was also a past favorite car dumping point for car thieves.

At the SE side of Broderick Park at the foot of Ferry Street is another dangerous and unguarded swimming hole that have seen several children drownd on hot days.

Some of the Bridges on the Buffalo River have also been hot spots for drowndings on hot days when non swimmers jump into water over the head and die. Every few years this happens.

In Fort Erie the sandy beach at the former "Baby Hole" swimming area near the Peace Bridge was closed down by the government after a non swimmer was swept down the Niagara River to their death.

Guaded pools and sprinker wading pools were put up in Buffalo long ago to provide safe swimming opportunities for the people of Buffalo. Unfortunately the youthful belief in immortality often causes ignorant non swimmers to lose their lives. Also intoxicated people are also people that get into trouble. Just this year the Australian Life Guards instituted a second shift to deal with early morning drownding incidents dealing with intoxicated swimmers. The Erie Basin Marina has potential to attract drunken swimmes leaving the bars down there.

It is the job of enlightened government to provide safe swimming oportunities. This is something that cannot be taken lightly. Water safety IS OF PRIME IMPORTANCE. I use upper case not in anger but to emphasize what I am writing here. We must do everything in a power to allow people safe places to swim on hot days in this city. We must prevent loss of life from ignorance and intoxication. This is being responsibe and this prevents others from risking their lives if somebody gets into trouble at the Erie Basin Marina. A sign saying , "swim at your risk" is not being responsible due to the conditions in the water on the SW corner of the Erie Basin Marina point. Any local Lake Erie waterman or women who knows this spot will tell you exactly what I'm telling you. We cannot ever allow unprepared and non swimmers to walk into a death trap. The safety of the general public MUST be protected while striking an even balence. This can be done at the Erie Basin Marina with a narrow and shallow walled shoreline area. We must not allow people who think nothing of violating every safety regulation in the book to have access to this place with strong currents and a quick change in depth.

The City of Buffalo better assign at the beach a LIfe Guard with a paddle board and a life toss ring who is Red Cross certified in Water Rescue and who is an excellent open water swimmer. I'm warning all of you that to do less is to be responsible for the death of someones loved one. The hot days will make this location extremely tempting to those totally unfamiliar to the Lake Erie depths and currents at this location. I say this now in a desperate attempt to get some of you to listen to reason and many more years of water experience than most of you have. This includes at this very spot we are talking about.

It takes just a few minutes for a person to drownd. Do not take my words lightly. I might be on the outside of the power and wealth structure in this town but if you are in the water in toruble you want people like myself and friends to be very close to you. We are the authorities on this situation.

But might I add a thank you to Councilmember Davis bringing his family out to do a beach clean up in Buffalo.

A positive effort is always much appreciated by many people in this community. That is a fact.

Lending a hand and pitching in with friends and family is better than doing nothing and allowing miasma to have it's way.

I applaud the clean up.

Thank You.

Rez.. Instead of mandating that no one can or should be able to swim anywhere in Buffalo's natural waterways that we focus and maybe give children swimming lessons? I remember my father talking about having to take swimming lessons as a kid for school... I feel it would be better for all to create responsible swimmer instead of banning it outright.. because in the end people can just climb fences.

sbrof everyone should have swimming leasons as part of their schooling. It is great cardio vascular exercise and it helps to prevent drownding. But they don't have these leasons.

The problem is that off the Erie Basin Marina where the sand is being supplimented it is not safe for many swimmers who learned swimming in a pool. Do they know not to swim against a current? That is what drownds a segment of people.

If you are married and have a child I don't think that your wife would think it appropriate that your child's life be placed at risk by swimming off the Erie Basin Marina. I speculate that you Father wouldn't have taken you swimming at the Erie Basin Marina. The sand will not make swimming there safe.

Being a responsible swimmer doesn't get you off the hook at the Erie Basin Marina when it also implies childrens lives being placed at risk.

Open water at this location we are discusssing is not for non swimmers, pool swimmers, and beginners.

The only way it will be safe is by creating an enclosure that keeps people from getting into the deeper water where the current is. That current is strong. In no time it will sweep you past the lighthouse and into the open channel. The current there something is strong for an experienced swimmer. An experienced waterman would find this moving water to be arduous and trying. This is not a place for children to wade unattended.

Get the planners of this project together and I will have my friend demonstate to you how strong the current is there. However the problem is that my friend is a waterman and we are speaking about allowing people with little or no experience being allowed to swim in open water and a spot that will take more than sand to make it safe.

We both want to see swimming allowed in our open bodies of water on the waterfront but before we do so we must insure that these places are safe and life guarded.

We cannot be there to prevent all accidents but we can minimalize the risk by taking proper safety procedures.

My main concern is to make sure that nobody dies in the water in an accident that could have been prevented. This is paramount in importance to myself.