Red Bluff fence works spark safety fears among beach lovers
Bayside Council has spent $50,000 on a new fence at a popular bay beach — but users say it’s a disaster waiting to happen, putting people at risk of injury and even drowning. Here’s why.
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Sandringham beachgoers fear a new fence on the shoreline will become a death trap at high tide.
As part of its foreshore masterplan, Bayside Council extended the fence along Edward St Beach, north of Red Bluff, to prevent people going behind the sea wall.
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Environment, Recreation and Infrastructure director Steven White said the area was unsafe, and the $50,000 extension aimed to “improve public safety, protect vegetation and address the impacts of coastal erosion”.
But concerned residents want the council to remove or relocate the fence, saying the section behind the wall was used as a safe haven to shelter from high tide, when dangerous swells and waves often reached the sea wall.
John Amiet, a resident of 60 years, said people would now have to wade or swim to safety if they got stuck.
“This could be a life-threatening event if any unsuspecting beachgoer were trapped on the southern beach side of the wall after an incoming tide in rough weather, as the wall is now only passable on the sea side,” he said.
Fellow beach lover Bob Mason said the council clearly didn’t appreciate how volatile the sea could get.
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“Every hour or so the wave frequency at Sandringham changes … and the tide washes against the wall for about 97 per cent of days,” he said.
“It is often very violent there and nearly every day there are times when it is not safe to walk on the area in front of the wall.
“The council has thus placed people into situations of real peril.”
Mr White encouraged people to use the formal paths and ramps instead.
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