Pensacola Resident Wants Life Rings Along Palafox Waterfront — And a Councilman Agrees

Pensacola, FL (NewsRadio 92.3) -- A Pensacola man is asking the city to install life rings along the Palafox Street waterfront after noticing there is nothing along the railing that someone who fell in could grab onto until help arrived.

Bill Waters brought the concern to Pensacola City Council in person Thursday, saying he has raised the issue before by email and decided it was time to show up and ask directly. Waters says he has visited waterfront parks in other cities where life rings are standard safety equipment and can't understand why Pensacola's waterfront — one of the most heavily used stretches in the city — has nothing in place.

Waters specifically flagged the area around Plaza de Luna and behind Blue Wahoos Stadium as locations where a fall into the water could quickly become fatal. He says the waterfront draws residents of all ages year-round and the numbers are growing every year. His concern is not just for adults — he says the thought of a child falling in and having no way out is what pushed him to speak up.

Waters also raised a bigger question for the council — if city council isn't the right body to address waterfront safety, who is? He asked council members to either take action or point him to whoever can.

Councilman Charles Bare backed the idea and said the city has a responsibility once someone is in the water, even if keeping people from falling in isn't the city's job. Bare said discretionary funds could be one way to pay for life rings if public safety funding isn't available and said he wants to see the issue addressed.

The council did not take any action on the request at Thursday's meeting.