Sturgeon Bay’s City Council unanimously approved moving forward with plans for an expansion of Otumba Beach at their meeting on Tuesday, March 2nd. Some of the changes include doubling the depth of the beach while the width will stay the same. The beach’s depth would be approximately 50 feet deep. Council members estimated that the width is a little over 120 feet. These changes would then push back the sidewalk which would also pave the way for lighting to be placed on that sidewalk. 

The renovation does include thought for those who are handicapped or less mobile, as 3 cement slabs are expected to be poured for the ADA accessible picnic tables that are currently at Graham Park. City Councilman Spencer Gustafson mentioned that sharing this plan to his Facebook page fostered a lot of interaction, citing more than 8,000 post views. He even shared what the ADA-accessible beach mat would mean to area residents and visitors. 

A kayak/canoe launch will also be placed at the end of West Juniper. It is anticipated, however, that this renovation will make the driving area of Otumba Park inaccessible to truck traffic due to narrowing. One idea that was brought up amongst council members was putting barricades in the Winter so large vehicles do not try to use the roadway to get access onto the ice for fishing. 

(Picture courtesy of City of Sturgeon Bay)