Tag: Waterfront

Should a Natural Waterfront Park be created?

John Draper

Richard Pope of the Willow Beach Field Naturalists (WBFN) did all the right things.  He convinced four Advisory Committees and the GRCA that a Natural Heritage Waterfront Park would be a good idea but his presentation to Council only got a lukewarm reception.  Despite a lot of information being provided in advance, the idea was deferred to February 2020 when Staff will provide a report.  The idea was made public in a Post based on Richard’s presentation to the Sustainability and Climate Change Advisory Committee (SCCAC) early October (see link below) and basically means that the West Harbour, the West Headland, the Ecology garden and the West beach would be declared a Natural Park with restrictions on what can be… Read complete articleShould a Natural Waterfront Park be created?

More on Cobourg’s Harbour

John Draper

This post covers two topics – boat-lift-out and harbour repairs; first the lift-out: It’s a sure sign that winter is coming – boats can’t stay in the harbour for too long so they are all lifted out by late October. The first lift-out was done September 28 and the second lift-out was done on Saturday, October 26.  As usual, it involved a crane rented by the Yacht Club with about a dozen volunteers.  The crane came with two men – one to operate the crane and the other to direct it. Some owners elected to first have their mast removed while others left them in place.  Each owner was charged a fee determined by the yacht club but not made… Read complete articleMore on Cobourg’s Harbour

Campground Decision

John Draper

At the Committee of the Whole meeting on Tuesday, in addition to the discussion on the East Pier, Dean Hustwick, Director of Community Services also asked Council to give direction on what should be done with the Trailer Park – now called the Campground.  As with the East Pier, Councillor Emily Chorley made a motion to start discussion – see below. Mayor Henderson wondered if the proposal was too narrow and wanted to include the YMCA building (at Centennial Pool) which is nearing its end-of-life (2025).  He also thought that there are too few washrooms overall in the area and wanted an overall plan to be created. In addition, the campground office building could perhaps house public washrooms. Dean Hustwick agreed… Read complete articleCampground Decision

Council Decision on East Pier

John Draper

The East Pier was closed to traffic a while back because of damage by high water and an engineering study was done.  At around the same time, the Waterfront plan was completed which recommended upgrades to the Pier and to the Campground.  Four options were proposed for the Pier which included both repairs and upgrades, and public comments on these were solicited.  In (another) marathon Council session on Tuesday (October 15), Council decided what to do.  They had to balance costs of possibly around $4M against preserving an asset well into the future.  To help with the decision, the Parks and Recreation Advisory committee made a recommendation to “implement Option 4 – a combination of pedestrian and light vehicle use… Read complete articleCouncil Decision on East Pier

Natural Waterfront Park proposed

John Draper

At the next Committee of the Whole meeting, the Sustainability and Climate Change Advisory Committee (SCCAC) will recommend to Council that a natural heritage waterfront park be created. This would comprise “the westerly part of the Cobourg harbour and water front lands” as described in a presentation to the committee by Richard Pope of the Willow Beach Field Naturalists.  Richard also presented to Heritage, Parks and Rec, and Planning committees and told me that “none of the four committees had objections and all planned to notify Council of this and/or actively support it. Many individuals on the committees were very enthusiastic.”  As Richard notes, apart from the inclusion of the west harbour, this idea was recommended by both the Parks… Read complete articleNatural Waterfront Park proposed

Harbour Safety Audit Concerns

John Draper

At Monday’s Committee of the Whole Council meeting, the results of a Safety Audit of the Harbour were presented.  Also on the Agenda was a presentation by Jeremy Fowlie of the Dragon Boat and Canoe club who strongly criticized the “Audit” and said that implementing the recommendations would mean the club would need to shut down.  Councillors Adam Bureau and Nicole Beatty (and others) asked leading questions – there was clearly a major concern by citizens, notably harbour user groups, and some suggestion that the Town was against club activities in the Harbour.  In response, Dean Hustwick made an impassioned defence of the “audit” and his staff.  This report will try to present both sides of the conflict which generated… Read complete articleHarbour Safety Audit Concerns

Dragon Boat Festival 2019

John Draper

Cobourg’s West Harbour was alive today with the Annual Dragon Boat festival – a fund-raiser for the United Way.  It started at 8:00 am and ran until 4:00 pm. Now in its 20th year –  there were 13 teams, 5 competitive and the others simply participating.  One of the teams (of course) is the Survivor Thrivers but there are other local teams such as Rotary as well as visitors from Ottawa and Belleville.  Visiting teams usually stay overnight and enjoy their weekend in Cobourg.  Races start at the East Pier and about 1 minute and 15 seconds later they finish at the West headland.  Weather is not always good but today was sunny and hot – unusual for September 21. … Read complete articleDragon Boat Festival 2019

Complaints about Marina

John Draper

In 2017, high water caused power to be cut off to boats moored at the Marina; this happened again in 2019.  And if we are to believe that it’s at least partly caused by the new IJC plan 2014, it’s quite possible, even likely, that there will be high water again.  Two delegations to Council at their Committee of the Whole meeting on Tuesday are asking for action on this – they point to a reduced number of boats coming to Cobourg and want the power situation to be fixed before the 2020 season.  John King who says he represents boaters and has interviewed 100 of them on the subject is also critical of other aspects of Marina management –… Read complete articleComplaints about Marina