Vancouver Park Board Reverses Beach Lifeguard Cuts

Vancouver's Park Board has reversed a plan to reduce lifeguard services at city beaches this summer, opting to maintain coverage at nine locations following public outcry that included a personal account from musician Peter Gabriel about his near-drowning in 1983.

The board announced Friday that staff have been directed to provide lifeguards at Spanish Banks West and East, Locarno, Jericho, Kitsilano, Sunset, English Bay, Second Beach and Third Beach. The original proposal would have limited services to five high-traffic sites with the most visitor interventions, citing budget constraints. Park Board chair Tom Digby described the reversal as "a difficult decision in the current fiscal environment," adding that officials needed to ensure the beaches remained safe. "We have a long history of having excellent beach lifeguarding in Vancouver, and residents expect that," Digby said in a release.

The decision came after former Vancouver lifeguard Andrea Nicholson emailed Gabriel's executive assistant about the cuts. Gabriel responded that he was "alarmed," recounting his rescue from a riptide off a city beach while windsurfing as a novice ahead of a concert with David Bowie at BC...