Coeur d’Alene to keep City Beach open

COEUR d’ALENE — Those looking to enjoy a quiet, reflective, healthy, socially-distanced walk along City Beach in Coeur d’Alene can take a deep, relaxing breath of fresh lakeside air.

Mayor Steve Widmyer said the popular local destination is not under any threat to close at this time.

“The city is just going to continue to emphasize following health care guidelines and social distancing,” he said.

Not all of the waterfront beach access along the popular stretch is open to the public any longer. North Idaho College officials announced Thursday that its beaches and parks, just west of City Beach, are now closed to the public in an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus, a pandemic that has infected almost 1.7 million people worldwide since first cropping up in December, killing more than 102,000. As of Saturday afternoon, 44 Kootenai County residents have been diagnosed, with zero fatalities.

The college campus was already closed in response to the pandemic, as coursework has transitioned to online-only studies beginning in late March. The beach, known to the college community as Yap-Keehn-Um, was a late addition to the campus closure, along with its grassy park.

NIC spokeswoman Laura Rumpler said the decision to close the beach was made in an effort to protect the public while maintaining skeleton operations on campus.

“We unfortunately had to make the decision to close the NIC beach area so we remain in alignment with the guidance of the governor and our State Board of Education regarding our closure of our campus physically and offering classes online,” she said in a statement.

Rumpler added that, aside from the health risks of social gatherings, maintaining the beach and park grounds with such a limited staff would have stretched the school too thin.

City Beach extends parallel with Park Drive east to Independence Point. As for public grounds around the college campus, the North Idaho Centennial Trail is still open, including along the path that stretches along NIC’s campus. The trail’s adjacent roads near the beach — West Lakeshore Drive, Rosenberry Drive and West River Avenue — are all public roads and remain open.

The college’s online postings informing the public of the closure drew bitter critique from commenters and social media warriors.

“I’m done following stupid rules that don’t make sense,” one commenter posted. “It’s time to write your letters to Governor Little and put an end to the stupidity. I’m done following stupid rules that don’t make sense. The fear mongering and media hype is beyond stupid. Idahoans are not sheeple.”

“Welcome to Nazi America,” another wrote.

Others supported the move.

“[NIC is] just trying to be safe,” one penned. “They’re not doing it to be mean. There are a lot of people out that are not following any rules.”

“Thank you NIC” another wrote. “[The] sooner people stop socializing and stay away from people the sooner we can end this and get back to our lives.”

Widmyer said he hopes residents will act wisely when trying to exercise their bodies and their rights.

“At some point, personal responsibility and caring for your fellow citizens has to take over,” he said. “We can’t regulate all personal behavior.”