Saskatoon’s urban beaches can be managed

It’s time to emulate other cities around world taking advantage of their water

The responses to my column last week all had a similar theme. Many of you commented that Saskatoon doesn’t have a place to swim in the river inside city limits.

Growing up, one thing was made very clear to us: if you waded into the South Saskatchewan River, you would die. We heard it from teachers, visiting firefighters, and the media.

Then one day, some of the students in my class waded across the river to the far side.

They all came back.

I’m not saying that rivers aren’t dangerous. There are times during the year when the South Saskatchewan is extremely hazardous.

There are also times that people and dogs wander into the water and they come back out, despite the signs warning them otherwise.

On hot days, Cranberry Flats, Nutana Beach and the sandbar at the bottom of Ravine Drive are packed. People wade and play in the cold water. Depending on water levels, some walk across the river. In the offleash dog parks, dogs dive in to bring back anything that floats.

Those who take a fun afternoon ride on the Prairie Lily hear the safety talk before the boat departs. If anything goes wrong, grab a life vest, hop in the water and “wade to shore.”

Yet, swimming in our river is officially taboo and not to be encouraged.

I have written about this before, but humans are generally pretty good at assessing risks.

I have swum with reef sharks before because they are bottom feeders and they generally don’t eat humans. Along with thousands of others, I will flock to the Rocky Mountains this summer to hike on trails alongside grizzlies because it is a manageable risk. I will be in Grasslands National Park this weekend, despite the rattlesnakes.

Other cities tend to see it the same way.

Urban beaches have come to numerous cities in Europe, despite their tendency to limit access to their rivers. Different European cities have different approaches, but all have sand, music and food that’s easily accessible.

Urban water quality has its own issues, but they’re able to work around that by conducting daily tests.

Some open the beaches up for alternating club nights and family nights.

There are family movie screenings.

People come back alive. It’s not that much different than what we used to have in Saskatoon near Riversdale Pool. A series of floating planks were located on the river in the outline of a swimming area. That was before Gardiner Dam made the river flows somewhat more predictable.

We love our urban parks. Many of them located in the middle of our neighbourhoods are packed on a hot summer day.

The investment into them is well worth it and provides an excellent value for those neighbourhoods.

At the same time, people also flock to our illegal beaches and sandbars in pursuit of a different experience. They have shown time and time again over the years that they understand the risk of what they’re doing.

Urban beaches can be easily managed.

River flows and levels are well known and when they’re too high, they shut down the beaches. When they’re at a safe level, people should be able to use the beaches at their own risk.

It’s the same kind of risk evaluation that people have used for years on everything from ocean beaches when tidal currents are high to mountain trails when the grizzlies are aggressive.

Cities spend millions of dollars to build places where people, dogs, families and food trucks can hang out on a hot summer evening. We have the locations already, but we’re afraid to officially endorse them as fun places.

It’s time to figure out how to make our sandbars and beaches more accessible, enjoyable and safe.

It’s something other cities have done around the world. We can do it here.