Birds Delay Reopening Of Manhattan Beach Pier Mayor Says

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA — Anyone who visited the Manhattan Beach Pier before 1 p.m. on Monday, June 5 discovered that the gates to it were still closed despite an announcement the pier would reopen on that day. Well, open that day, it did! At 1 p.m., the gates that had been locked due to COVID-19 were once again opened to welcome the public.

At Tuesday night's Manhattan Beach City Council meeting, Mayor Richard Montgomery said the pier had to be "steam cleaned and power washed" before it could open to the public. He noted that birds had been "using it as a playground" during the closure so that prevented the pier from reopening Monday morning. Public Works and contractors had started cleaning the pier on Friday afternoon once word was received that the pier could reopen. It took Friday afternoon and Monday morning for the work to be completed.

Professional photographer and Manhattan Beach resident Pete Halvorsen was one of the early bird risers who thought the pier would open in the morning. He later posted his experience on Instagram.