The boat ramp at Quatat Park in Seaside was blocked off this spring following a second incident involving a person driving off the ramp and into the Necanicum River. At the time of the accidents, the site was poorly marked and completely open. Because of how important the boat ramp is to the community, city staff and officials are considering what can be done to either move or safely reopen the ramp.

SEASIDE — Several months after a family drove off the Quatat Park boat ramp and into the Necaniccum River, the ramp remains closed in Seaside. Its future is uncertain.

But boat users want to know when the ramp will be reopened, or where another ramp will be located.

“As mayor, I have not had so many calls and emails in the last few months like I’ve had over this issue,” said Mayor Don Larson. He expects other Seaside City Council members also have been bombarded with calls from local residents about this “tender subject.”

Because the boat ramp is popular with everyone from fishermen to recreational users, something must be done soon, Larson said. City officials are discussing potential options. The ramp might be moved to a new location, or safety restraints could be installed at the Quatat Park site.

It took two motor vehicle accidents in three years before the ramp was closed.

In March, Shannon Melissa Soto, 34, of Aloha, drove a vehicle off the boat ramp and into the Necanicum River. She and her passengers — Apolinar Jose Soto, 44, and their teenage son — escaped from the car and swam to safety.

A couple who had a similar experience in 2011 was not so fortunate. Robert Weston MacNeil and Karen Irene Stevens of Vancouver, Wash., drowned after Stevens accidentally drove the car the couple was riding in off the ramp and into the river. The Seaside Police determined the drivers in both incidents were under the influence of intoxicants.

At that time, the entry to the boat ramp, directly across from the end of Oceanway Street, was completely open and poorly marked.

A lawsuit related to the first incident was filed against the city and other entities in Clatsop County Circuit Court in May 2013. The lawsuit was in the process of being settled out of court when the second accident happened.

“Everything was working against us,” Larson said.

The city blocked the ramp after the second car went into the river. The city’s insurance company determined the boat ramp was a liability. A large concrete block painted with a bright “STOP” sign blocks the entrance, preventing people from using the ramp — or driving into the river.

The city has not received legal notice involving the second incident, City Manager Mark Winstanley said.

Seaside Police Chief Dave Ham said it’s the city’s decision to close the ramp and t “the police department supports the closure,” whether or not it’s temporary.