“ [NAME] Missing off the Holland State Park Pier” is a frequent headline in the summer.  Most conversations to follow focus on the victim or the water; however, overlooked is the confusing and inconsistent pier safety information. 

   The Holland State Park pier is on the north side of the channel providing direction and protection for boaters. 

   Currently, three major groups manage the pier and surrounding water. The Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office Marine Unit patrols the water around the pier and conducts searches and rescues. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) places signs and barricades and does small maintenance tasks. The United States Army Corps of Engineers built the pier. 

   While at the State Park, a DNR officer was quick to say the DNR does not own the pier; however, they place the roadblock at the end of the thick blue railings on red flag days, and their logo appears on the informational sign. 

   The barricade notifies a visitor the pier is closed with a taped-on yellow paper: “Due to high waves and strong undertow currents. The pier is closed until further notice.” The message is wedged to fit, tied down with string, and has grammatical issues. 

   Additionally, people looking towards the iconic lighthouse Big Red completely miss a small sign emphasizing the dangers of the pier’s surrounding water “Danger zone – No Swimming.” 

   “No swimming”?

   There is no enforcement by any agency of the rule nor are beachgoers even aware. 

   The information sign at the beach conflicts with that of the Marine Unit. “In Holland, although unsafe, it is not illegal to jump off the pier into Lake Michigan. It is however illegal to jump off and into the channel,” Lt. Eric Westveer said. 

   Furthermore, the sign is confusing because of the illustration. The swim area markers can be seen as well as the beach, yet these characteristics belong to the green north pier rather than the south red pier. 

   More importantly, many dangers are not mentioned, “The unseen dangers, rocks, obstructions, currents, cold water temps to list a few,” Westveer said.  

   Only after 14 years of living in Holland, talking directly with the Sheriff’s Office, and closely reading the signs at the state park, is my understanding of the rules slightly better. However, my understanding is not 100% certain. 

   Now, imagine a visitor coming for a beach day. How are they supposed to have any idea of the rules and dangers of the pier? 

   Back to the useless barricade. 

   “I went to the beach …and there was a red flag. I was with my friends and we simply decided to go out onto the pier… There was a barricade at the end of the blue railings… but we all just ducked under it and went out onto the pier,” a junior at West Ottawa High School said.

   The student went on to say, “we weren’t planning on jumping off of the pier. But it was still super easy to get out there…” It does not matter if they were planning to jump or not; the condition of a red flag combined with the high water is another headline waiting to happen.  The student’s walk on the pier is a prime example of the lack of clear and correct information and enforcement.

   Obviously, the barricade, signage, and hands-on action are no longer acceptable. Enforcement procedures and signs need updates to provide accurate information on the rules and dangers of the pier.

   Closing the pier is a complicated issue. Wrong! It is quite easy to bring people together to save lives in a “small town,” it is easy to write rules and laws that correspond and it is easy to create large viewable signs.

   Solution: clear, large, and informative signs right before the blue railing starts that highlight the coherent DNR’s and Marine Unit’s rules/laws. Enforcement of the rules. Law enforcement and the DNR making sure that the rules/laws are followed. And a real gate that shows Holland wants to keep its visitors and locals safe.

   As a community in Holland, we need to step up. We need to provide consistent and preventable measures to keep our teens, visitors, and anyone for that matter off the pier on red flags. No one local or traveling should ever be the [NAME] in the repeating article headline “missing off the Holland State Park Pier.”