SAN DIEGO — After this weekend’s storm passes, the City of San Diego will see what damage was done to the Ocean Beach Pier. Then the city will see if it can have some repairs done for a modest amount of money and reopen the pier; until a plan is in place for what to do with it long-term.
Wind and waves are battering the Ocean Beach Pier once again. It’s been closed since January 5 because of the damage from a winter storm.
Since then, no one is allowed on the pier. An exception was made on Friday morning when Mayor Todd Gloria and the Ocean Beach Pier Taskforce walked all the way out to the end of the pier, to see for themselves what the pier is facing and what condition it’s in.
Starting April 1, they’re going to show the public what options they have to either repair, replace, or rebuild a new pier.
Denny Knox, Director of the Ocean Beach Main Street Association, says 500,000 people visit the Ocean Beach Pier every year.
“The pier is very meaningful for the businesses economically. We haven’t been out on the pier in a long time with all the damage and you go out there and you go- that’s right. This is why we love it so much. It was amazing, the damage. It’s frightening actually. Just to look at it crumbling in certain areas,” Knox said.
She says the pier was built to last 50 years when it opened in 1966. Due to the storm damage earlier in the year, it’s just sitting out in the water, unused.
Should it be replaced, repaired, or torn down and rebuilt?
Knox says the City will start having public workshops April 1 to find out from the public what they want to see and what having a pier in Ocean Beach means to them.
“It feels like the pier has to be replaced, they can't patch it together, there's just no way," Knox said.
She says it’s hard to image Ocean Beach without a pier. “We also want to do our due diligence and learn what can be built there for a reasonable amount of money," Knox said.
She says the city has to find funding no matter what because the pier can’t just sit out there like it is. The public should expect to get more details about the April 1 Liberty Station workshop next week.
Knox says people will get to see more specific information about the pier and what it takes to rebuild it.
WATCH RELATED: Ocean Beach pier to remain closed for now (Jan. 2023).