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MARQUETTE -- Drownings are not a new concern along the 350 yards of public beach front in the Marquette area.  But five recent drownings, three of them in Marquette, have spawned a public uprising for water safety in Lake Superior, and the city has caught on.

Wednesday night, they asked the public for help at an open hearing, and the public answered.

“The lake calls us to it...why is there not a lifeguard out there?” asked one frustrated community member.

“I suggest you extend a rock wall right out to the first picnics,” added another.  “It can be just done with dump trucks, fill it in with rock all the way across there, and that would begin to stop those (rip) currents.”

Mayor Kivela was impressed with the response.

“People had really good ideas they wanted to share tonight,” said Kivela.  “We got a handful of great ideas that none of us had ever heard before that were very encouraging.  People care, they're passionate about their community, and they want to help.”

So what did they decide to do?

The city suggested four angles to attack lake safety:  pre-education in schools and communities, on-site education through warning flags and signage, beach patrol, and improved emergency response. To do that they say they will review input from Wednesday night’s forum.

“We’re going to review all of the suggestions and prepare something to the commission that would be used to help frame where we might like to go next,” said City Manager Bill Vajda.

The city requests patience from the community as they organize good, long-term safety solutions for next year’s beach season.  In the meantime, the commission says a flag safety system should be fully implemented on Marquette beaches within the next two weeks, and beach patrol has been activated.