That's ridiculous. There's miles of open sides on the lagoon, which is what we all enjoy.
Don't let your child roam around the edge of the lagoon alone.

It's not ridiculous. Pools are REQUIRED by law to have fences around them, why would this be any different? Before the play space at Catamaran park had the fence built around it, any kid could easily have just fallen into the lagoon just by wandering just a short distance. I'm not saying the lagoon needs to have a fence around the whole thing.... just where there is a sidewalk right adjacent to it.

Did you know there was only ONE drowning in Foster City since it was built, and it was right at the beginning in the 70's. And it wasn't a child.

I did not know that but it really doesn't matter. Drowning is a well known danger to kids.

How many deaths would you like to happen before you feel something should be done about it? It's called prevention.

You can watch your own kids or you could, conversely, volunteer to pay for it, you know.

Parents watch their kids. Accidents happen. Again, pools are required by law to have fences. This is no different.

It is absolutely different. These are natural open park spaces, we do not need to have walls and fences
blocking our enjoyment of a community amenity.

Water is water whether it's chlorinated or not.

Well, now that's just juvenile.

It's addressing your point. Whether the water is in a pool or in the lagoon is irrelevant, it is still a hazard. A 4 ft fence in the areas where the sidewalk is directly adjacent to the lagoon (again NOT saying the entire lagoon needs to be fenced) for safety purposes would not impede anyone's ability to enjoy the lagoon and it's views. There is already a small section of fence at the bottom of the ramp under the bridge where Foster City Blvd crosses the lagoon, probably so kids don't just ride their bikes straight into the lagoon after coming down the ramp. Have you noticed it? Is that part of the lagoon particularly unenjoyable for you?

This content is currently blocked. The content is either under review by SeeClickFix or has been confirmed by SeeClickFix for violation(s) of SeeClickFix Terms of Use (https://www.civicplus.com/terms-of-service). Content that aligns with SeeClickFix Terms of Use will be posted, and content that does not align with our Terms of Use will not be permitted for public viewing.

This is a serious safety issue in our community and I posted here in an effort to get it corrected.

I agree with Michelle. Yes I watch my daughter near the lagoon but it doesn't mean I want to jump in after her if she falls off her bike. I believe a low fence will not impede others enjoyment of the water and would be an easy trade off for safety.

From the World Health Organization: Drowning is now the 3rd leading cause of unintentional injury/death worldwide. Surpassing motor vehicle accidents. Number one recommended prevention strategy: Install barriers to control access to water.

From: http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/143893/1/9789241564786_eng.pdf?ua=1&ua=1

Completely agree w/ Michelle. We aren't trying to be unreasonable, just requesting that areas where sidewalks go directly near water be covered.... they did this partially around leo ryan already. I'm a very vigilant parent and it takes fractions of a second for a child to run off and get in trouble. This would be a great solution, i already avoid areas near the water with my toddler. Good luck michelle hope they can take this into serious consideration.

How about this terrible story from Yuma, Arizona. Mom had twin 18 month old boys in a stroller, let go to swat a bee and the stroller rolled into the canal. Stroller got swept away and both boys died.

"Keslar went into the canal and tried to rescue her sons, authorities said, but was hampered by the steep sides of the canal, the depth of the water and the force of the current. The current washed the stroller away." Authorities said "Many people typically do not comprehend how swift the current in these canals are and how deep the water can be," Yuma police said. "They also do not realize how difficult it is to climb back up many of the canal embankments."

We should learn from these tragedies - not wait for it to happen in our own community before taking action.

http://www.azfamily.com/story/28798515/police-twins-drown-in-canal-as-mom-tries-to-fend-off-bee

agree with Kathleen , I'm happy to have open sides on the lagoon.

This content is currently blocked. The content is either under review by SeeClickFix or has been confirmed by SeeClickFix for violation(s) of SeeClickFix Terms of Use (https://www.civicplus.com/terms-of-service). Content that aligns with SeeClickFix Terms of Use will be posted, and content that does not align with our Terms of Use will not be permitted for public viewing.

Unnecessary. The bridges already have guardrails and the streets usually have buffer between the pavement and the sidewalk. Again, I'm only talking about the areas of the lagoon that are DIRECTLY adjacent to a sidewalk. The areas the come to mind are under the overpasses (FC blvd and Shell blvd) and near Catamaran Park. There may be a few others but those are the ones I encounter the most. I'm not talking about obstructing anyone's 2 million dollar backyard view into the lagoon.

Plus, if a kid falls off the sidewalk onto the street, they can just get back up and return to the sidewalk. If a child falls into the lagoon, they likely won't be able to get back up because of the vertical walls, the depth of the water, and if they can't swim they will not have much time before they drown. It really is perplexing that some people don't see deep water adjacent to a sidewalk as a safety issue.

Agree pathways directly next to lagoon should have a safety, as exists in Leo Ryan park. This is only a few feet not miles. The bay trail does not qualify.

Here is a photo of one of the areas I'm referring to. This is the lagoon/sidewalk under Foster City Blvd as it crosses over the lagoon, near Ranch 99. I measured the depth of the water just over the edge to be ~3 feet deep. You can see there is a partial fence at the bottom of the ramp so people don't come down the ramp and go directly into the water. But then there is more sidewalk right up against the water. There are not many of these areas. As I said before, under FC blvd and Shell Blvd, and the area next to Catamarann Park.

Here is the lagoon/sidewalk next to Catamaran Park, also 3 feet deep. They have wooden stakes and pink ribbon along the water's edge so perhaps they are already preparing to put a fence there. See that woman with her toddler? The toddler was trying to get into the water the whole time I was there taking photos and measuring.

So just to be completely clear, again, I'm not suggesting there be a fence all around Foster City. Just these few areas where the sidewalk is adjacent to the water.

I'm with Michelle, esp around the parks. I would like to see it mostly for my children, but also for myself. I hope the stakes and ribbon are signs this is already in progress!

I also agree with Michelle. It alway made me uneasy to be near the water with my kids.

We appreciate your concerns about protecting the waterways from children potentially falling in. However, the City is surrounded by 8 miles of levee improvements, not counting the lagoon perimeter, which have waterways adjacent to sidewalks. Installation of fencing around all of the waterways and child-proofing the lagoon would be very difficult and there are a large number of users of the lagoon and levee, which require access to the waterways. The installation of fencing would be very expensive and although this may be supported by some of the residents, we do not believe this would be supported by the majority of the residents. We appreciate your concerns and please do not hesitate to contact us with any other questions or concerns.

I'm not talking about the levees - as there is no water that directly comes up to the levee - and if there is water close by, it gradually gets deeper, not just drops off like the lagoon does, so that is not a risk.

I want to stress that I'm not talking about fencing ALL of the lagoon. I'm talking specifically about the three areas that I outlined above. The area under the FC blvd near 99 ranch has a boat dock directly adjacent to it where people who need to access the water can access it. And the area under FC blvd near the dog park has the boat launch with a gradual entry into the lagoon. Catamaran park in particular is extremely high risk since it's a park for kids. If a child fell into the lagoon, they would not be able to get out due to the vertical walls and the depth of the water.

How can the safety of those three areas be enhanced? The water is still accessible using the boat launch and boat ramp near FC blvd so that should not be a show stopper.

Ok since people keep thinking I'm talking about fencing in the ENTIRE lagoon - see below for a map of the areas I'm referring to. The purple lines across FC Blvd and Shell Blvd indicate the areas (depicted in the photos in my above posts) that have sidewalks directly next to the lagoon. PW brought up the access requirement, and you can see on the map that right next to the areas that I'm requesting to be fenced - there is a dock on one side of the lagoon and a boat launch on the other side. So, waterway access is not affected. The other area I'm talking about is the edge of Catamaran park, near the bottom left corner of the map.

I hope this clears things up. I don't want the entire lagoon fenced. Absolutely not. I'm only talking about a few very small sections where the risk is highest.

Thank you for your report. Again, we do appreciate your concern about protecting the waterways from children potentially falling in. We have ensured that designated pathways near the lagoon are protected as much as possible without the installation of fencing. Please feel free to contact us at (650)286-3270 with any further questions or concerns. Thank you again for your report. This issue will now be closed.

Well this is disappointing.

When a child can be on a sidewalk, and then one step later be in the lagoon, over his head in water, there is not adequate protection. The areas I'm referring to needing more protection are limited. People are expressing their concern about the beautiful views Yes, we live in a water oriented community but that does not mean that we should be negligent to safety and subject our children to unnecessary risks in order to preserve the views. And really, who is hanging out UNDERNEATH the Foster City/Shell Blvd overpasses anyway? Catamaran Park has tons of kids. In parks, safety should take precedence over the views. There are miles and miles of remaining lagoon and levy that can be enjoyed.

I'm talking about feet of fencing, not miles.

And, I'm talking about ACCIDENTS. Accidents happen. Even with vigilant parenting, swimming ability, strict directions of where to go and where not to. They happen. It seems that this day in age we choose to parent shame as much as possible, but accidents happen to even the most vigilant parent and if steps can be taken to minimize risk to a known danger, they should be taken. Unintentional drowning is not a new thing. As I have said a bunch of times before, pools require fences for a reason. That reason remains.

I hope this request will be reconsidered.