SAN DIEGO — The City of San Diego is working with the public to decide on the future of the Ocean Beach pier.
The city held its second in a series of community workshops where San Diegans got to pitch in with their ideas on Saturday.
The city of San Diego is in the early planning stages of what could be a long-term fix to a battered Ocean Beach pier and is seeking input from the community.
“I think it’s everything and I’m thrilled that they’re asking for input. It's nice to have a diverse group here, everyone offering their opinion, so I love it," said Ocean Beach resident, Jim Schuessler.
“This is the only way you can do it, this gets community buy in, this makes everybody happy and it empowers people to feel like they have a voice, this is the only way to do it," added another Ocean Beach resident.
Dozens of San Diegans attended the second of several public workshops the city is hosting to gather input.
“This is an event to gather ideas from the public so that we can start pulling that into the design element – what the future of the pier will be," said James Nagelvoort, Director, Strategic Capital Projects Department.
The ideas gathered will be discussed by city officials and engineering consultants to develop several design alternatives for the potential replacement of the 56-year-old pier.
“It’s a fishing pier, that’s the service, that’s what it provides and I’m sure that’s still going to be part of the future of the pier but the question is, can it be more?" added Nagelvoort.
The community will consider environmental permitting, sustainability, operational usage, cost and historical significance.
“The goal is to come back to this same event talk to the community again and bring them, I think we’re going to try to bring them three alternative, three different pier proposals," continued Nagelvoort.
Some say the pier is in need of new and improved amenities.
“Certainly, something for all ages to be able to participate in, making sure that it’s accessible to everybody, those are some of the basic amenities," added Schuessler.
Right now, the pier is closed after getting battered by severe winter storms.
The city expects it to reopen to the public sometime next month.
Long-term repairs are expected to cost upwards of $40 million and take years to complete.
Design alternatives are expected to be presented to the public this fall and a design alternative is expected to be selected early next year.