Lifeguards get help from Big Brother
Noaki Schwartz
NEWPORT BEACH -- The City Council on Tuesday night decided to continue
discussion of a plan to install video equipment to help keep tabs on
swimmers at the city’s beaches.
Two Internet companies are in the running for city approval.
Surfline Inc. wants to install the high-tech equipment at the city’s
lifeguard headquarters for free and give the city access to the company’s
two other “surf cams” set up at 56th Street and The Wedge.
In exchange, the council would allow the Huntington Beach-based
company -- which provides information on surf conditions around the world
-- to mount cameras on lifeguard towers and to have a link on the city’s
Internet site.
The other company, Hardcloud, has offered to pay the city up to $7,000
annually for the right to install one video camera in a lifeguard tower.
If cameras were installed, the public could check out surf conditions
before making the trek to Newport’s beaches and the city’s lifeguards
would be able to keep an eye on swimmers.
Lifeguards would have the ability to spot a beachgoer caught in a rip
current and the Coast Guard could use the technology to keep an eye out
for any boats in trouble.
“We have the lifeguard towers staffed during the summer, and the rest
of the year, only some lifeguard towers are staffed,” Deputy Fire Chief
Tom Arnold said. “In the dead of winter, the only way to keep watch is to
drive around.”
City officials said they would not be surprised if some local
residents and surfers expressed concerns that the Internet images might
draw even more inlanders to the city.
While this may be the case, Arnold said Internet surfers will be less
likely to drive to the beach to check out the waves.
“In Surfline’s experience, people can get on the Web and not even have
to get in a car,” Arnold said.
Sean Collins, president of Surfline, added that the public safety
benefits outweigh some local surfers’ concerns that they may have to
share their waves with the world.
“I think it’s a little shortsighted when people are more concerned
about maybe a few extra people in the water when we’ve had 15 drownings
in Orange County this year -- many of which have been in Newport.”
However, 30-year Newport Beach resident Ron Romanosky was not at all
enthused about the proposal.
“The Wedge is already overcrowded,” he said. “As you well know, The
Wedge has no restrooms and people’s yards become urinals.”
Councilman Tod Ridgeway promised that he would protect the interests
of nearby residents, but also downplayed the potential effects the
cameras might have on beach crowds.
“It’s a proximity issue,” Ridgeway said. “People in Africa aren’t
going to drive here to go to the beach.”
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