The Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf is open once again, two weeks after a chunk collapsed into the ocean during a storm. The end of the wharf is fenced off, and large debris is still visible in the water and on nearby beaches.
Santa Cruz Parks and Recreation Director Tony Elliot says the city took steps to ensure public safety before reopening the wharf. The first task was using sonar to find lost equipment that might threaten the structure.
“The crane and the skid steer have been located and are not in harm's way of the wharf at this time,” said Elliot.
The city confirmed with the US Coast Guard that the equipment is not leaking oil or fuel, and they’re working on a plan to remove it from the water. The city also partnered with an engineering firm to check the safety of the rest of the wharf.
“Moffatt and Nichol did a phase one assessment of the entire wharf and confirmed with the city that the structure remains as strong as it was pre-storm,” said Elliot.
Lincoln Minor, Sr. came out to fish with his grandson and said he was surprised at how quickly the wharf reopened.
“Two weeks? But it was approved. They said it was fine. So we decided to come out today, and I’m glad we did,” said Minor.
Lots of people came out to support local businesses, like Steve Carmassi, who‘s visited the wharf most of his life.
“We really felt for the business owners who lost what must have been quite a bit of revenue during the holidays,” said Carmassi.
Cirilo Sanchez is a manager at Stagnaro Bros who’s worked on the wharf for 28 years. He says the closure was hard.
“Even as an employee I lost a lot of money because I stopped working for 10 days,” said Sanchez.
Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley says the question now is whether the end of the wharf should be rebuilt at all.
“Very clearly, climate change has affected us and will continue to affect us,” he said.
The city has a Wharf Master Plan and welcomes community input about the future of the iconic Santa Cruz landmark.
