Why a pier?

The OB pier, built in 1960something, has been falling apart since 1960something. There has been little money spent in restoring, modernizing, or strengthening the pier, and now it is physically crumbling and condemned. It’s done. What was once a beautiful extension into the ocean is now a symbol of mismanaged upkeep and a lack of planning.

A new pier has been proposed. And oh what a pier it will be. For the mere cost of ~$200M, of which only $9.5M is secured.

As someone who has enjoyed that pier in many ways over the last few decades, I have to ask - is it worth $200M? Is it even worth $10M? I propose the answer is…no.

If you take $9.5M and invest it into some vehicle generating 3%, you’ve got ~$300k a year to play with to enhance Ocean Beach. Why not extend the public WiFi into this area and make Saratoga Park much more usable? Right now it is basically a field in which to break your ankle. What’s stopping the city from making it nice?