Parent concerned about safety rails on pier

Kenneth Ma

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- Up until about eight months ago, Chris Frei could be

seen walking on the pier with his 2-year-old daughter, Maggie.”It was a

nice place to go for a walk and enjoy the ocean and the weather,” said

Frei, a Trudy Street resident. “We used to go down, get a bagel and walk

outside.”But then Frei noticed something. The gaps in the railings along

the pier were so wide his daughter could easily slip between them and

plunge 38 feet into the ocean.

“I don’t like to walk along the pier anymore with my daughter, because if

she were to slip through, I would have to jump over to rescue her,” he

said.

The railing is made up of four bars, with a foot between each one. At

extreme low tide, the distance from the pier’s deck to the ocean ranges

from 27 1/2 to 38 feet from the beginning of the pier to the end.

“Your average toddler is about 2 feet tall, so it would not take much for

them to step up to the railing and fall through,” Frei said.

Because the pier is a major attraction for families, Frei said he would

like the city to consider retrofitting the railings for safety,

eliminating the wide spaces between the four bars.

“I think they should be concerned about safety,” he said. “If they are

spending city dollars to make public attractions, they should at least

make it safe.”Frei said the Manhattan Beach pier could serve as a good

example for the city.

Torrance resident Jennifer Balderas, who takes her 2-year-old son to the

Manhattan Beach pier, said the railings there are spaced close enough to

protect youngsters from any danger of falling through.

Ross Cranmer, Huntington Beach’s director of building and safety, said

the railings were built in compliance with city codes and are safe,

though he acknowledged that toddlers could be in danger if left

unsupervised. He said the city has no record of any accidental falls

through the railings, and the city has no plans to retrofit them.

Freeway overpasses and cliff railings pose the same potential danger to

toddlers, Cranmer said, adding that it is the parents’ responsibility to

ensure their children are supervised at all times in such places.

“Nothing is a substitute for parental supervision in any hazardous

situation,” he said. “How much do you protect citizens from themselves?”

Frei said he agrees that parents should be responsible for their

children’s safety. But the risk should be minimized, he said.

“Even though the margin of error is slim, the potential of a child

falling through the pier is there,” he said. “Maybe [the city] should put

a sign at the pier that reads, ‘Use the pier at your own risk.’ ”

City spokesman Rich Barnard said there are no safety standards for pier

railings, and because there has never been an accident, he doesn’t think

the city would be liable.

“If you take that position, why even have lifeguards?” Frei said.

Frei said he plans to submit a formal complaint to the city. And for now,

he said, his family will spend their weekends elsewhere.