MUSKEGON, Mich. (WOOD) — The city of Muskegon is considering spending $13,600 on a new system to warn beachgoers of hazards.
The SwimSmart Warning System would be placed at Pere Marquette Park’s bathhouse and the kite shack building.
The system includes light poles that will blink red when it’s dangerous to go in Lake Michigan. There will also be yellow and green lights to indicate different conditions.
If approved, the system could be installed in the spring and ready for the next beach season.
2020 was the deadliest year for drownings on Lake Michigan in a decade, according to data compiled by the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project. So far, 57 people have drowned in the lake, 21 of them in Michigan.
Two of the drownings were in Muskegon: In February, Ramal Roby, 31 of Muskegon fell through the ice at Pere Marquette Park and died. In mid-November, 29-year-old Lance Jenkins of Fruitport Township was swept off the breakwater and into the lake. Rescue crews could not get to him; his body was found two days later.