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LETTERS: White Rock Beach is out of reach

Editor:
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Tracy Holmes photo Paddy Jones navigates the West Beach boat ramp Tuesday morning. Peter Clay, meanwhile, writes that while there have been improvements to the city’s sea wall, easy access to the beach is limited and the boat ramp was built too steep.

Editor:

Although I admire the improvements to the sea wall along White Rock Beach, I would like to point out one obvious flaw, which is the stunning lack of access to beach itself.

The whole purpose of having a beach is to be able to play on it, but this detail may have been overlooked in the planning process.

Except in one or two well-concealed places, only those with acrobatic prowess or mountaineering equipment are able to reach the beach, partly because of the massive boulders festooning the entire bank. It seems that little thought has been given to families, especially those dragging coolers on wheels, small children and the odd granny or two down to the water.

It would have been really nice if a few wide concrete ramps and access points had been built in various places, with signage to help people find them.

In addition, if some areas of the beach itself were cleared of rocks and landscaped, walking down to the sand from the path would be far less arduous. I know this would cause inconvenience to a few mollusks and other tidal creatures, but I am sure they would get over it.

One final thing: the boat ramp at the west end of the beach is now too steep for boats, but at least it looks good.

Peter Clay, South Surrey