SAN DIEGO — The famous Crystal Pier has long been a popular landmark in San Diego, but an important part of it is now closed to the public.
“Oh, you always just feel that extra freedom when you’re right above the water and the waves crashing, it’s special,” said Sunshine Pollock, who has been walking the pier daily for years. “Very disappointed, it’s just the extension is that much more special to walk down to the end and I see a lot of people come up with their fishing poles and they get halfway down and they’re so disappointed.”
A ”closed for maintenance” sign is posted on a fence that partitions off the end section of the pier beyond the cottages.
“It’s very disappointing, my wife really wanted to go fishing,” said Kim Ginnever, who stays at the Crystal Pier Hotel once a year.
“We wish we could get out here because our son is surfing and we’d like to watch him or film him, so it’d be kind of cool to be able to walk out to the end and watch the surfers,” said Dave Eansor.
Owner of the Crystal Pier Hotel & Cottages, Bill Allen, told CBS 8 the end section was closed off because there is much needed maintenance down below with the braces that help support the pilings, which took a beating during the storms and king tides earlier this year.
Allen and his wife own a portion of the pier, from the entrance over to the median high tide line, and the City of San Diego owns the rest, including the area that is closed.
“If anyone’s in danger, it’s good of course that it’s closed, but it’s been way over a month, maybe two, and I can’t see that they’ve touched it, so I hope it starts soon,” said Pollock.
So far, no repair work has been performed on the pier and there is no telling if it will reopen in time for the busy summer season.
“There’s so many people that have come to San Diego for years and they look forward to fishing off the pier or just walking down to the end,” said Pollock. “The fact that it’s closed, it takes away the charm of everything.”
A spokesperson for the City of San Diego told CBS 8, "The City has hired a consultant to evaluate the city-owned sections of the pier that were damaged by the storm and to identify work needed to make repairs. No timeline is available at this time."
WATCH RELATED: Ocean Beach community chimes in on future of Ocean Beach Pier (April 2023).