Am I the only one that doesn't want to go to a beach where I am not allowed to swim? I lived in Chicago for 5 years and it was the swimming that helped make the lakefront popular. It wouldn't have been such a draw if you had to sweat your tail off and only look at the water.

I think the color difference between the two photos says it all... how about we focus on cleaning the river.. maybe when that is done a private developer would jump to fix up these properties. Until the erosion, sewage, pollutants stop flowing getting to involved will epitomize 'lipstick on a pig'

As Texpat10 said, staring at the water isn't fun. Perhaps a beach would be better suited in Riverside / squaw where the water is cleaner. AKA the pollution is more diluted.

The breakwalls off the EBM were created to protect Buffalo. The won't stop a seiche at the Erie Basin Marina. One big seiche and there goes the beach. If you don't beleive it just drop by Crystal Beach Waterfront Park and take a look at what the seiche did to their park. I know a friend who used to work at the Erie Basin Marina and he has seen some of the storms where water and waves went over the top of those walls. The walls in high water events will suck that sand out like a giant vacumn cleaner. The problem is the proximity of the walls to this short stretch of artificial beach. Once you start getting the Army Corps of Engineers in the mix the costs will grow as will preserving a beach at a place never intended or designed for a beach.

The easiest place to build a beach is the LaSalle Park plane ramp.

In this economy it would be smarter to spend any money procured for a beach and put it into a project that is easy to do and has better survivalbility in either a seiche or a high wind/wave event.

Yes it is correct that polluted water is up the Buffalo River and the current follows the Buffalo contour of the Niagara River after heavy rainfall. There is also a very large sewer outlet at the terminus of the Erie Canal by the Aud.

The worlds largest wave pool with a sliding roof would be an awesome project that would attract people to the beach inside during the winter. Now I'm dreaming something out of the Buffalo box.

A year round wave pool is the dream. The reality would be just being able to provide safe and clean fresh water swimming for all classes in Buffalo. A beach without swimming is like a pool without water or skateboards. Let our people swim in the lake. Small lake pools are very practical and safer than the beach proposal. Build a long fresh water pool along the Erie Basin Marina and then rename the Erie Basin Marina the Erie Basin Waterfront Park. People who cannot afford a boat should have an opportunity to get into the lake on the hottest days of the summer and fall.

the only thing beachcombers are going to find are the heavy metals washing ashore from the buffalo river...unless your plans include hiding gold dubloons in with the sand we're importing for our new beach...

and this is the plan according to ward pinkel??? does his expertise include building beaches or is he limited to running a mediocre clothing store?

I thought jetties were failures at preventing beach erosion? Don't they actually increase scouring?

... also, I move that we name the beach "Newell Beach".

My money is on small fresh water pools.

Think a three laned pool along the shore of the Erie Basin Marina with a matt walkway to it. A small wall would be required to parallel the lakeside Erie Basin Marina. The water depth would be kept at a uniform depth of no more than six feet. The bottom would be flat. The water qualtity would be maintained by fresh water feeds from the lake and by regular testing the water. It would be important to make sure this water can move and circulate.

Over at the LaSalle Park Seaplane launch build a sand beach/fresh water pool.

they should run the California games on this strip of land

Another environmental fact. This proposal might end up becoming a beach for geese and sea gulls.

Most of the people here are not aware that on the north side of the break wall off the Erie Basin Marina is a protected sea gull hatchery in the sand. These birds come onshore often. What will be created is another place at the Erie Basin Marina for them to rest and deficate into the sand.

In my opinion the better and more practical way of opening swimming in the lake is with an extensive and narrow shore pool.

It shouldn't be too hard to attract sand when it is needed. This whole Erie Bason Marina area used to be a big sandbar in 1800. Sand used to block the entrance to the Buffalo River and it took a lot of effort to manage the sand.

The sewage problems that Buffalo has are found in Hawaii and all the coastal areas of the Great Lakes and ocean coast lines.

Eventually the U.S. and Canada are going to have to upgrade all sewage plants in North America to protect public drinking water. The phamaceuticals and radioactive waste people urinate end up in our water.

It would be better for State and Federal money to be spent on improving all waste facilities in Erie County, Buffalo, and Fort Erie than on buiding a second Peace Bridge.

As it is there is always some garbage in the lakes but the exposure varies throughout the year. In general after heavy down pours the lake is most polluted near rivers and drain pipes.

Remember a year ago a man died in Honolulu from exposure to sewage in Ala Moana harbor. This occured after a large sewage release into the Pacific Ocean.

Open this beach first, the level of effort and resources required is minimal. Establish proof of concept than expand to Riverside or another location along the Niagara River. Open a few more public boat launches, maybe bring in a business to rent inner tubes or kayaks, like there used to be. The bottom line here is that we have closed off public access to most of the river and lakes, leaving it open to only a few private marinas and to municipal services and the military. It is time to take it back and make it thrive. I'm sick of seeing all the great things that other cities, like Chicago, have done to reinvent their waterfront while we are stuck in neutral waiting for something better to happen. It is time to get our collective asses in gear to make something useful for the majority of people in the area.

The environmental concerns brought up by many readers are excellent. If we value clean water and a healthy environment -- for all the obvious reasons -- we're going to have to deal with these issues sooner or later. Certainly, the problems aren't going away by themselves.

These issues are big, costly, and can sometimes seem overwhelming. Finding real solutions can challenge many of our basic assumptions, and may require fundamental changes to our lifestyles and economy. This might explain why a serious and intelligent conversation never seems to make it into the mainstream.

One last thing: I suppose in a public forum it's inevitable that some reader will make an ignorant comment, turning a civilized conversation into a personal attack. To 'yukon_jake' and his ilk: please lay-off Ward Pinkel. He runs a great city business, is an exemplary neighbor, and is as progressive and civic-minded as anyone in Buffalo. This community could use many more citizens like him.