From February 2 to February 23, Cobourg residents were asked what they thought about managing the visitors at the beach.  The survey was described in a Cobourg News Blog article on February 3 – see the link below – but now the results are available.  A tabulation of answers – including all of the comments by participants – is available in a 156 page “Public Engagement report”.  This will be reviewed by the Parks and Recreation Committee in a meeting on March 9 and they will then make recommendations to council. The survey had 1408 respondents and is considered the Town’s “most responded to survey”.  Although the report is long and a good summary of the comments is impossible here,… Read complete articleBeach Survey Results

At Tuesday’s busy Committee of the Whole (C.O.W.) Council meeting, a number of citizens made their thoughts known on three separate issues: Ted Williams presented some facts and ideas about Marina finances, Kevin Burt had an opinion about the construction of sidewalks on Abbott Boulevard and the Accessibility Advisory Committee wanted to revise the policy and service level for Wheels Transit. Council listened to their input and debated the issues with varying results. The Marina is supposed to be 100% self-funding but it’s not clear that Capital projects are included; Kevin Burt asked why was the Abbott Boulevard sidewalk being done given previously raised objections and the Accessibility Advisory Committee want Wheels Transit to return to a more door to door service…. Read complete articleCobourg Citizens Lobby Council

Last December, Council had a special on-site meeting to review what should be done to repair the harbour and enhance the East pier (see photo and link below).  The problem is that it’s not just the East Pier that needs fixing, it’s the whole harbour.  And these repairs could cost around $12 million – without even doing the much discussed enhancements to the East Pier.  In October 2020, an RFP was issued for design work to implement the Waterfront plan including enhancements to the East Pier and the harbour generally but it was withdrawn “due to staffing and funding concerns”.  It seems it was premature given the need to first do repairs.  East Pier enhancements are now not expected to… Read complete articleNext Step on Harbour Repairs

One of the things Council has wrestled with in the past year is the ongoing concern in the Town about the use of Cobourg’s Beach.  It is on Lake Ontario and is one of the Province’s best beaches and is wide open for anyone to use – resident or not.  Town Staff and a number of others see Cobourg as a Tourist destination with the beach being a prime attraction but not all residents agree.  After all, maintenance is paid by taxes and there is a debate as to whether beach goers bring a benefit to the Town or even whether they should bring a benefit.  The beach is not crowded on most days but on some weekends in a… Read complete articleManaging High Volumes of Visitors at Victoria Beach

It’s not just the East Pier that needs fixing, it’s the whole harbour. Teresa Behan Deputy Director, Community Services, estimates that “repairs to all aspects of the waterfront area may be upwards of $12M including all fees (see table below). This does not include any ‘enhanced features’ and landscaping that will be proposed for the final design of the east pier project.”  Major Repairs are required for both the east and west breakwaters, the basin east and north walls and minor work on the centre pier. In addition, the estimate for rehabilitation of the East Pier has been revised upwards.  The project will also include assessments of the Fuel Dock and Coast Guard Wharf.  The amounts shown are still estimates… Read complete articleMajor Harbour Repairs Required

Cobourg’s Waterfront Plan recommended a large number of changes to the Harbour, the Marina, the Trailer Park (now called  the Campground), the west headland and the west beach.  A Request for Proposals (RFP) has now been issued asking for more details and cost estimates.  Closing date is October 27 and after four public meetings, the schedule calls for completion by the summer of 2021. Tenders for implementation are to be issued by Fall 2021 and construction will start Spring/summer 2022 – although these last two dates are tentative. However, even awarding of this preliminary work is yet to be confirmed pending Council’s review of the 2021 budget.  The scope is in two parts: the Campground and the area from the… Read complete articleRFP Issued for Waterfront Changes