Salty, sandy amphibious ribbons hemming their way between sea and land, beaches have been the naturally distinctive foundation of Vancouver recreation since legendary lifeguard, Joe Fortes guarded over full body bathing suited  swimmers in English Bay, the city's first, and still most widely used recreational facility.

Last month the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation briefly considered closing lifeguard stations on traditional city park swim beaches, including Jericho Beach and the 2 westernmost stations on Spanish Bank(s)*. After hearing passionate pleas from the public, the board unanimously sunk the idea but the discussion of continuously depleting lifeguard funding needs to go much, much further before there are tragic consequences.

The last civic workers strike closed every pool and community centre in Vancouver over the summer of 2007 and city hall wisely declared beach lifeguards an "essential service" to ensure the safety of the public who Lemminged their way into the sea in record numbers. Since then lifeguard funding on Vancouver beaches has decreased alarmingly while beach usage has been rising like the tide.

Vancouver beaches have always had a safe, family friendly character that fairly reflects the peace loving nature of our community and lifeguards are the essential anchor of this environment. In the past few summers budget cuts have required lifeguards to work solo during busy periods, a situation that not only puts the public at risk but is a potentially serious safety risk for the lifeguard as well. Whenever lifeguards are pressed into action, risking their safety for the safety of others, they need to have readily available back up immediately, not 5 or 10 minutes away. When a solo lifeguard is occupied with anything from routine first aid to keeping the peace, there is no one watching the water.

The ocean is the largest, most distinctive, and potentially the most dangerous, playing field in Vancouver. Declining lifeguard coverage has been lowering the standard of public safety on Vancouver beaches significantly over the past 5 years. Lifeguarding coverage needs to be increased back to a more appropriate level in the interest of public safety. Fund raising, or funding cuts to pay for it, need to be found somewhere else in the City's budget, after all, nobody ever drowned in tall grass.