Diamond Bay: Waverley Council plans to stop selfie deaths
Following the death of a woman who had been trying to take photos near a cliff edge, a plan has been revealed to prevent further tragedies.
Wentworth Courier
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- Footage shows tourists risking their lives at Diamond Bay
- New safety measures to deter tourists risking death for selfies
A council has decided to push ahead with plans to build a new boardwalk near a cliff-edge in a bid to stop people risking their lives for Instagram photos.
Waverley Council voted this week to draw up designs for a lowered boardwalk at Diamond Bay.
It comes after a 27-year-old plunged to her death after taking a photo in August this year.
Council said one of the primary reasons people are jumping the safety balustrade is to get photos next to the iconic stone archway.
Officers are now investigating if lowering the boardwalk would enable people to get the archway in frame without having to jump the rail.
“No selfie is worth dying for” Waverley Mayor Paula Masselos said after Tuesday’s council meeting.
“The new design hopefully will remove some of the risky behaviour by actually lowering the
boardwalk to open up the view.
“We’re trying to remove the incentive for the risky behaviour.”
Council officers will also consider a viewing platform as a part of the reconstructed boardwalk so that people can take in the views.
However, council has dismissed calls for CCTV to be installed.
The council report, which was voted through on Tuesday, said CCTV cameras at the site “would look unsightly” and “would be prone to vandalism”.
There is “no evidence … the presence of CCTV cameras act as an effective deterrent to risky or anti-social behaviours”, the report added.
“I think if you look at the expense of it, there’s enough evidence … to show that generally it’s not an effective deterrent in this instance.”
Mayor Masselos said CCTV will not have a benefit unless it is monitored 24/7. Instead she said they had increased ranger patrols.
“Money will be far better spent on increasing the physical barriers to making it difficult to climb over the fences and putting money to more staff and patrols.
“A CCTV camera can’t tell a person to move on but our rangers can,” she said.
Fines can also now be issued to people seen disobeying the council signs and climbing the fence.
Mayor Masselos also said people need to take some personal responsibility.
She said the death in August “highlights what the tragic consequences are of not obeying Council signs and wilfully climbing over fencing and barriers to take a photograph so close to the edge.”
“I really, really must call upon people to respect the signs and the barriers so that we can avoid any further tragedies,” she added.
Witnesses of the Diamond Bay cliff death said the young woman slipped after taking photos on the cliff edge.
Neighbours had expressed concerns about tourists climbing the fence to take photos for years before the woman fell to her death, and warned that a death would occur if council didn’t do something.
The council report stated Waverley has been dealing with risk at the cliffs for more than 20 years.
“Over the years, council has had to respond to various risky behaviours in our clifftop locations such as abseiling, slacklining and now, selfies,” Mayor Masselos said.
“I must reiterate that we have been doing a lot of works at Diamond Bay well before this tragedy occurred.”
At Tuesday’s meeting Liberal councillor Will Nemesh said the death “was a catalyst for much of this discussion” about safety.
The design for the new boardwalk is likely to come to council at the beginning of the next financial year.
If it is approved, construction will commence in the winter of 2020, and the boardwalk is estimated to cost about $1.2 million.
Following the tragic death, temporary fencing, a permanent balustrade and permanent signage were installed.
Council has said it is also running an ongoing social media campaign through Weibo and Wechat to educate tourists.
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