27 replies to this topic

[D.L.]

When was the last time you walked the breakwater?

The last time I went was October. Now that we're into spring I am looking forward to going again sometime soon. Every time I go out there I think wow, I should do this more often!

[Baro]

Do it at least a half to a dozen times a year, it's a nice little walk.

[Van]

Did it a couple weeks ago when we had that big stretch of sun. Always great views-- girls in their Lulus...

[Lorenzo]

Did it a couple weeks ago when we had that big stretch of sun. Always great views-- girls in their Lulus...

Except for the ones that shouldn't be in Lulus. It takes a really great arse to look good in Lulus.

[James Bay walker]

I walked it a couple of months' ago, and admit I was dubious about the railing concept but it's worked out just fine. And, there were lots more people walking along the breakwater while I was there.

I gotta admit it wasn't perceived as especially safe before the railing was added. It was way too easy for someone to impulsively push you off or for you to push someone off (and unlikely to be seen doing so), with a high risk of serious injury or death, and that had led to me avoiding it.

jbw

[Holden West]

It was way too easy for someone to impulsively push you off or for you to push someone off (and unlikely to be seen doing so), with a high risk of serious injury or death, and that had led to me avoiding it.

Exactly. Many of my walks have been ruined when I've been pushed over the side. The rest of my walks were ruined when I pushed people off and I felt bad afterward.

[concorde]

are there any figures for how many people who have been pushed or fell over the side over the years? I've been walking it for decades and I can't recall any time I felt unsafe

[rjag]

I was against the railings as well, however my opinion changed when I was able to take my Uncle from Scotland who is wheelchair bound right out to the end....he had been to Victoria a few times over the last decade but was never confident enough to make the trek before....the look of sheer pleasure on his face this summer changed my opinion completely.

[AllseeingEye]

Exactly. Many of my walks have been ruined when I've been pushed over the side. The rest of my walks were ruined when I pushed people off and I felt bad afterward.

Ok this made me laugh out loud; I've probably walked Ogden Point 500x since the 80's and I have certainly never seen or even anecdotally heard of anyone "falling" or deliberately pushing anyone else off the breakwater. That said like a growing number of people I was also dead set against the fence (the Nanny State argument etc.) but I have to admit I am coming to embrace the idea. Clearly the numbers of people walking there now are greater than they've been in the past so the installation of the fence appears to have resonated with many and "met a need".

[aastra]

Holden gets the post of the week for that one.

[patrick venton]

I was just down at the Dive Store picking up a refill and noticed dozens of people walking the breakwater in this really blustery weather .. Thats good. The awareness of danger has gone in the minds of those people who dont need to be the brave to do the walk.. Raining like hell , blowing like hell. what a feeling. All they need is a diving board at the end of the breakwater.

[James Bay walker]

Exactly. Many of my walks have been ruined when I've been pushed over the side. The rest of my walks were ruined when I pushed people off and I felt bad afterward.

You say that in jest, which is of course loads of fun and I appreciate that.  Still....

 

jbw

 

ps.  People with pretty severe mood disorders do walk our streets, and a momentary lapse is all it would have taken for a tragedy.  Let's just say I'm glad there's now a railing surrounding the walkway. 

[tedward]

are there any figures for how many people who have been pushed or fell over the side over the years? I've been walking it for decades and I can't recall any time I felt unsafe

 

How nice for all of you who don't suffer from things like Acrophobia. It may not be all that tall and sure, the chances of someone actually being pushed are absurdly small but I am sick and tired of all the abuse.

 

The railings are there. They do make a LOT of people feel safe and even if you want to make fun of people and their perceptions they will not be removed.

 

Time to move on and pick a new target for your bullying.

Edited by tedward, 14 April 2014 - 10:19 AM.

[http]

concorde, on 02 Nov 2013 - 10:16 AM, said:

are there any figures for how many people who have been pushed or fell over the side over the years? I've been walking it for decades and I can't recall any time I felt unsafe

[ snip ]  even if you want to make fun of people and their perceptions they will not be removed.

 

Time to move on and pick a new target for your bullying.

 

Uh, what?  Bullying?  I feel like I really missed something here.

[tedward]

Uh, what?  Bullying?  I feel like I really missed something here.

 

Yes I guess you did.

 

The sarcastic, mocking posts repeatedly saying there was no danger and implying that anyone who felt nervous or uncomfortable on the old breakwater should just STFU are simply bullying. I can take a little harmless needling and lighthearted jabs but enough is enough.  There is no need to keep going on about it unless the intent is to torment and harass.

[lanforod]

^ this is the Internet isn't it?

[Mike K.]

Torment and harass?

People are free to say they preferred the breakwater the way it was. In our overly litigious, overly protective and overly censored nanny of a state the right to an opinion is still a right

[G-Man]

Well I think the Breakwater is way better now and not from a fear of falling perspective. It is truly something that can be called a tourist attraction IMO. I would put it in the top ten things tourists should do in visiting Victoria.

[tedward]

People are free to say they preferred the breakwater the way it was.

 

And I made no objection to that.

 

They are not however free to engage in ad hominem attacks or false characterizations of those who disagree with them.

 

Despite this being - as Ianforod says - the internet, if we are going to promote "high level discussions" I feel justified in asking that we actually talk about the issue rather than mocking and denigrating those whose opinions and experiences differ.

 

Just because one person felt perfectly safe on the old breakwater does not mean they should be able to tell me or anyone else that our fears were unjustifiable and of no valid concern.

[James Bay walker]

are there any figures for how many people who have been pushed or fell over the side over the years? I've been walking it for decades and I can't recall any time I felt unsafe

Two deaths and several serious injuries attributed to breakwater falls have been reported in the Times Colonist since 1992. A 20-year-old man was believed to have suffered a seizure and died after falling off in 1992; a 45-year-old man tripped and suffered severe head injuries in 1995; a 14-year-old girl hit her head twice after falling over the side late at night in May 2000, but was not seriously injured; a 63-year-old woman was found dead in the water in early 2001; and another man was seriously injured in early 2001.

 

http://www.timescolo...ne-deal-1.33645

 

http://www.timescolo...akwater-1.51596

back and forth discussion:  http://www.reddit.co...s_at_the_ogden/  

TropicDrunkFernwood 11 points

1 year ago

Let me be the voice of dissent here. About 15 years ago I had the misfortune of discovering the corpse of a young man who had died off the breakwater after experiencing a seizure and falling off. He was only in his 20's, but he suffered from epilepsy and had no control. Had those rails been there, his family would still have at home for Christmas this year. This is a sensible and overdue change. It would have been just as easy for the city to simply block access to the breakwater altogether to avoid the liability issues. So I believe we should be glad this was the chosen approach. The design appears well thought out and visually appealing. That's my opinion, down vote if you must, but I'll bet those that do haven't found the dead body of a young person whose life would have been saved had these been there then.

 

jbw