Nudists outraged after major changes at popular clothing-optional beach they claim make them feel like 'a child at daycare'

Longtime visitors to a clothing-optional beach in Vancouver are unhappy with recent safety measures that have been implemented, saying they've backfired and have only increased the number of peeping Toms.

Metro Vancouver, which has managed Wreck Beach since 1989, has removed large logs on the sand that have been there to provide seating and 'essential barriers against wind, sun, and unwanted onlookers,' according to an online petition seeking to preserve the beach as it was.

Those behind the petition claim that without the logs in place, 'herds of men in city clothing are coming to the beach, intimidating visitors, and filming women and children.'

Mary Jean Dunsdon told CBC that Metro Vancouver's changes are unnecessary and ineffective.

'I don't want to come to Wreck Beach and feel like I'm a child at their daycare, because I'm not,' she said while on the beach.

Pictured: Wreck Beach, situated on the tip of Vancouver, has long been a clothing optional beach. Lately it's been plagued by people simply coming to peep at nude beachgoers

Metro Vancouver argues that too many logs, which often wash up on the beach are a safety hazard because they reduce visibility for lifeguards in case a rescue needs to be made.

The cleanup didn't remove all the logs, leaving some 200 still lying on the beach.

Paul Brar, a division manager with Metro Vancouver, said after the cleanup, logs were put in an organized grid arrangement to improve sight lines up and down the beach.

Since Wreck Beach can only be accessed via the ocean or down a 500-step climb four national and province-level agencies recommended these changes so authorities could better respond to emergencies.

Those behind the petition claim that without the logs in place, 'herds of men in city clothing are coming to the beach, intimidating visitors, and filming women and children'

Metro Vancouver also pointed out in a recent report that visit to Wreck Beach have increased by 20 percent over the past five years, which has resulted in a rise in mostly heat-related emergency calls.

The chair of the Wreck Beach Preservation Society had the harshest words for Metro Vancouver who also says the removal of logs has only emboldened perverts.

'We are seeing a large influx of folks coming in that have no interest in getting naked or enjoying the beach,' said Stephen Biduk. 

'They're just coming down to look at people, to look at naked bodies, and that's becoming a bigger concern.' 

Dunsdon added that she isn't a fan of getting looked at by voyeurs.

'I know that Wreck Beach is a tourist destination, but I am not a tourist attraction,' said Dunsdon. 'I am not the Eiffel Tower.' 

Mary Jean Dunsdon, a frequent visitor to the popular beach, doesn't like getting gawked at by strange men, saying 'I know that Wreck Beach is a tourist destination, but I am not a tourist attraction'

The petition, which is nearing 600 signatures, demands officials return large logs back for privacy and natural barriers.

'We really are the feet on the ground and know what's going on, who's doing what and if there are any overriding issues,' said Biduk. 

'So we think our input is valuable for [Metro Vancouver] in order to manage the beach.' 

Brar told CBC that staff and beach lifeguards often pull new beachgoers aside to tell them not to stare or take photographs.

The petition writers feel that Metro Vancouver's approach of 'trying to educate' voyeurs isn't sufficient.