Preserve History or Enforce Safety?

Advancing as a society means that we are constantly changing and improving things. In La Jolla, part of this advancement was reconstructing a lifeguard stand and adding a “30 inch retaining wall under a locked gate,” according to La Jolla Light. While the lifeguard stand provides the lifeguards with a better environment to perform their job, the connecting wall also provides “a safety barrier for the newly constructed ramp.” When the idea was introduced to Senior Jakob Rolstad, he stated, “That seems like a great way to preserve that place.” The main reason the wall was built was to fulfill a city policy initiated by the California Building Code. According to Brant Westfall, a real estate company, the “retaining wall built at Children’s Pool substantially conforms to a previously approved permit and shall remain.”  

Some locals heard about the plans to build a wall around the beach, which would restrict their access. They retaliated with a proxy war, where a bigger corporation does not get involved directly. “The ramp has been used for decades and to limit it to emergency access only is not in line with the Coastal Act,” said Ken Hunrichs. Defending Hunrichs, Adrian Kwiatkowski states,  “Opponents look for all opportunities to undo the protections approved by the California Coastal Commission and have taken it to appeal a minute construction project the City has done. This is not an ADA-access to Casa Beach. It is not ADA-compliant, never has been, never will be.” 

As the proxy war only involves a select group of locals, students who attend La Jolla High have other views. “The access point doesn’t stop from experiencing that part of La Jolla,” Senior Ethan Trinh stated. Trihn also mentioned, “It does make sense that the wall provides a safety aspect.”  

La Jolla will be a safer place with new additions like the retaining wall at Children’s Pool. Safety precautions like this, that don’t make dramatic changes to a person’s way of life, should be instituted. So let’s not fight the process of safe living.