OBSERVER Photo by M.J. Stafford A man walks along a rainy Lakefront Boulevard in the city of Dunkirk. The city plans to keep the road open this winter, a change from recent practice.

In a switch from recent years, Dunkirk’s Lakefront Boulevard is planned to remain open throughout the winter. First Ward Councilperson Natalie Luczkowiak wanted to know why at a recent Common Council meeting.

“Residents that live around the boulevard believe Lakefront Boulevard should be closed during the winter,” Luczkowiak said. “The residents observe the drivers around there and the danger they are subjecting themselves to.”

Luczkowiak asked city Department of Public Works Director Randy Woodbury why he kept the road open this year.

“Mayor (Kate) Wdowiasz has challenged DPW and first responders to keep it open as long as we can this year, for a change,” he responded. “It’s a very active area, even in the wintertime. As long as the waves stay down, it’s OK. We were able to keep up with it in the last couple storms because the winds were relatively calm.”

Woodbury left open the possibility that dangerous conditions could close the road, which runs along Lake Erie from Main Street to Wright Park.

“We’ll monitor that. It’s an idea, it isn’t set in stone,” he said. “We have all the stones available down by the wastewater plant to reclose it, like we have in more recent years, when we’ve had 19-foot wave events that go over the wall, bring driftwood, and it becomes dangerous. If it should turn to that, then we will make a change and we will close it.”