Access to the South Jetty at Yaquina Bay near Newport

[BobbiDollPDX]

Access to the South Jetty at Yaquina Bay near Newport to be blocked next week | OregonLive.com

Excerpt: SOUTH BEACH – A popular jetty that has been the scene of three deaths in recent years will be gated starting next week, and some people aren't happy about it.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans on Tuesday to install a 20-foot-wide padlocked cable gate blocking a much-used path onto the South Jetty of Yaquina Bay. The path over the top of the jetty was originally developed for workers repairing the jetty and was never intended to be permanent or for public use, said Michelle Helms, spokeswoman for the Corps.

 

[GraphiteZen]

Lame. I fish out along the jetty during the summer and it is always crowded. A very popular spot, not just for anglers but many of the people I see just like to go out and sit either in their cars or along the top of the rocks near the road.
That jetty sees a lot of people, probably hundreds a day on the weekends. To attempt a closure after three deaths in three years is a very poor decision for the city to make, not to mention the fact that they use the deaths as token and cite that the real reasons are the sinkholes. The sinkholes didn't contribute to the deaths of these people as the individuals who died were most likely swept off out near the tip. After all, what's the function of a jetty?

 

[troutdude]

I totally agree GZ. Their decision is crap! Fishing OFF of the South's finger jetties at night, is a KILLER way to reel in a ton of sea bass! It just isn't right to close it OFF, because 3 peeps out of thousands of visitors got killed OFF of it. Maybe the family of one of those killed filed a lawsuit against the state, and now they're runnin' scared?

I vote for a gate crashing party!

 

[fishtales]

Are they going to fence it off up by the parking area or closer the fingers? I guess it is a sign of the times. No one wants to spend the money to have to fix it in the future... deferred maintenance maybe then it will re open. We usually fish right there at the parking area, I guess I missed the signs of damage last time I was there.

 

[Shark 13]

I think the plan is going to be to close the road where it turns into gravel. The sounds of the article is that they are not going to keep people from fishing from the jetty but to keep the vehicles off the gravel/sandy part.

Excerpt-"We would like to be sure people are safe. That is another reason we are going to go ahead and limit the vehicle access."
But while the gate probably will be easy enough to get around on foot, the corps doesn't want people walking on the jetty either."

I dont think it would be possible to keep people off the jetty. They would have to post a cop there 24/7. I know i wont stay off the jetty. Unless the weather is really bad and it's UNSAFE to be out on it. Unfortunately people are not smart enough to know when to stay the heck off of it. In my opinion if you are stupid enough to go out there in Nov. During really stormy weather then you deserve to be taken out of the gene pool. If the weather is nice this next weekend i plan on going out to the coast. I will post back to where the location of the gate is unless any one gets to it before me