Interview with Sean Scallon. Head Safety officer National Park Service.
1. Do you feel the the existing signs at ocean Beach are up to date? They are alright. Alot of victems say that they never saw any signs, and the ones that did say they didn't realize how dangerous the ocean really was.
2. Why aren't there any lifeguard towers? Ocean beach is not a swimming beach. It is too dangerous, plus there are only 8 lifeguards working full time for 10 months out of the year. In the off season there are only 2. Instead of using towers we have two trucks that patrol the beach and look for people who have visibly passed there limit.
3. When are the on and off seasons?
Spring and Summer. Spring is usually very windy and cold, and the summer is always foggy. Fall is the on season. That's when we have two trucks, normally its just one.
4. What are some improvements you think could be made on the existing signage. Alot of it has to do with placement of the signs. Like i said earlier, alot of poeple don't see the signs because they're in the parking lot, Plus they are only at streets where there are cross walks. (half) so if you pick the wrong street you're out of luck. I think if the signs were placed at the end of each stair well they would be harder to miss.
5. Do you think including a longer list of dangers would help, such as longshore-currents, or wave warnings? Yes. alot of poeple don't realize that the longshore-current at Ocean Beach accually swithes directions depending on which way the tide is going because of the bay. So at one part of the day the current is going one direction, but as soon as the tide changes so does the currents direction. Its pulls fast, so you can end up miles down the beach and not even realize.
6. Any other advice for me? What I realized about the sinage is that the important one's are made of wood, which breaks down in about 2-4 years. If they were made from vynal and aluminum they would definatly last longer. You should go to Halfmoon bay jetty and check out their sign. Its got a really good diagram of a riptide.
1. Do you feel the the existing signs at ocean Beach are up to date? They are alright. Alot of victems say that they never saw any signs, and the ones that did say they didn't realize how dangerous the ocean really was.
2. Why aren't there any lifeguard towers? Ocean beach is not a swimming beach. It is too dangerous, plus there are only 8 lifeguards working full time for 10 months out of the year. In the off season there are only 2. Instead of using towers we have two trucks that patrol the beach and look for people who have visibly passed there limit.
3. When are the on and off seasons?
Spring and Summer. Spring is usually very windy and cold, and the summer is always foggy. Fall is the on season. That's when we have two trucks, normally its just one.
4. What are some improvements you think could be made on the existing signage. Alot of it has to do with placement of the signs. Like i said earlier, alot of poeple don't see the signs because they're in the parking lot, Plus they are only at streets where there are cross walks. (half) so if you pick the wrong street you're out of luck. I think if the signs were placed at the end of each stair well they would be harder to miss.
5. Do you think including a longer list of dangers would help, such as longshore-currents, or wave warnings? Yes. alot of poeple don't realize that the longshore-current at Ocean Beach accually swithes directions depending on which way the tide is going because of the bay. So at one part of the day the current is going one direction, but as soon as the tide changes so does the currents direction. Its pulls fast, so you can end up miles down the beach and not even realize.
6. Any other advice for me? What I realized about the sinage is that the important one's are made of wood, which breaks down in about 2-4 years. If they were made from vynal and aluminum they would definatly last longer. You should go to Halfmoon bay jetty and check out their sign. Its got a really good diagram of a riptide.
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