City council member, mayor pushing to expedite Sand Point Beach move

A Windsor city councillor and the mayor have announced their intentions to speed up the process of an environmental assessment and the relocation of Sand Point Beach by three years. 

Ward 7 Councillor Jeewen Gill, with the support of Mayor Dilkens, is pushing to advance funding for the Sand Point Beach environmental assessment process after a man drowned last weekend. 

"If it's going to make everyone safer and a little bit more confident, then I think it's a great idea," said Fiona McGuire, a local resident. 

The city had originally planned to put forward $227,500 for an environmental assessment beginning in 2024 with the intention of moving Sand Point Beach further east toward the current Stop 26 Beach.

Due to the recent tragedy, however, Gill is pushing the city to begin the environmental assessment and relocation immediately. 

"I've heard from my constituents that they support relocating Sand Point Beach to further enhance public safety. For months, I have been working with the mayor and administration to deliver, and next week, I'm asking my council colleagues to support my motion to advance the funding for the Sand Point Beach Environmental Assessment," Ward 7 Councillor Jeewen Gill said in a press release. 

Councillor Gill will present his motion at the next council meeting on Monday.  

Last week, Windsor Police confirmed the body of a missing 24 year—old—male who disappeared in Lake St. Clair on May 22. 

"You never stop worrying about your kids, whether they're four or 24 and we certainly acknowledge what happened last week as a tragedy in our community," Dilkens said during a press conference. 

The call for an improvement of the beach has now grown louder. 

'A disgrace'

Windsor resident and former Ward 7 councillor candidate, Angelo Marignani, sent a letter to council earlier this week, asking for it to consider investing in public safety improvements for the beach.

"I feel council should follow the recommendations made by moving the beach area from the western dangerous side to the eastern Stop 26 side where the current is weak," he wrote in the letter.

He suggested a replacement of the western shoreline fencing, increasing the frequency of signage as well as using international pictograms of warning.

"If waterfront parks are Windsor's Pride, Sand Point is a disgrace. There are many suggestions for the improvement that we should be doing. This will be part of the planning process which I look forward to being active in," he wrote. 

Marignani also suggests patrolling Auxiliary Police to ensure safety on the beach until it officially opens.

If council approves Coun. Gill's motion, the process could begin later this year with an estimated cost of $5 million.