Waterfront Update
by Lindsay Kelly
NORTHEASTERN MANITOULIN--Disappointing numbers greeted the Little Current Waterfront Consortium (LCWC) at its public meeting held at the Howland-Little Current Recreation Centre on January 25. It may have been due, in part, to the snowy weather, but it may also have been because people got a taste of the Waterfront Development Plan at the last meeting and now "people just want to see it built," as planner Rodger Todhunter put it.
Following the last waterfront meeting held on December 9, the Northeast town was given several waterfront development plan options to peruse, and the town advised the consortium on their "preferred master plan directives." They closely follow what was presented at the December meeting, and were presented to the crowd last Tuesday by the consortium.
The directives include 13 waterside improvements and 13 land improvements.
Highlights include providing for maximum transient berths, including 44 slips east and west of the post office. The plan will also provide for future expansion of the cruise ship berthing at Turner Park. Improvements to the landscaping will also be included, with a central meeting place so cultural events can be held downtown.
Parking is an important part of the plan, and the consortium plans to add a parking area between Turner Park and the OPP boathouse.
A long, linear boardwalk will connect the length of the waterfront, and there will be two areas for washrooms, including a family washroom at the washrooms' current location. Signage and an interpretive complex will tell the history and marine heritage of the Port of Little Current.
One of the primary improvements will include enhanced greenery on Goat Island.
"At a minimum, we strongly feel there should be a berm, with some kind of coniferous plants so it will look more natural," Mr. Todhunter said. "It's 200 metres across from here, which makes it a primary visual focal point, so it should definitely be addressed as part of the plan."
Following the initial presentation, Mr. Todhunter opened the floor up to people who had questions about the plan. Local businessman Rick McCutcheon inquired about an earlier meeting in which the consortium had mentioned the possibility of creating more parking in the Turner Park area at a future stage of the project.
Mr. Todhunter noted that, if the town goes ahead with that plan, space for 72 spots could be created by excavating 10 metres from the rock cut at Turner Park. "It's achievable, and it's a half a million-dollar project," he said. But before the consortium gets into big projects such as that, he noted, "it made more sense to do as much 'berthing' as possible."
Mayor Joe Chapman agreed that "reconstruction is first and foremost," and that it would be done in sequence, beginning with the section by the post office, then the west end, followed by the east end, and finally the section by the bridge.
One resident offered objections to the proposed finger piers to be located near Boyle's Marina. They extend 150 feet into the water, and she was concerned that citizens with private land would not have enough room to move boats around the docks to get out into the North Channel. Residents currently have to manoeuvre around buoys to get out.
But Tom Hluchan, the marine engineer for the project, assured her that the shoal represented by the buoys would be removed, so residents would no longer have to worry about shallow water.
The designers' real concern, he noted, was the current moving along the channel. A floating breakwater will be included by the bridge, however, so the current can be slowed down.
The issue of parking returned to the forefront when it was suggested that the current parking lot located beside the post office should be removed to provide more green space at the waterfront.
"So we're going to lose those 20 spaces?" asked local businessman Phil Blake. The wintertime would be an especially difficult time for older residents to manoeuvre around the downtown if they have to walk extra distances, he pointed out.
Mr. Todhunter noted that additional parking would be created at the back of the block of businesses at the waterfront.
"Certainly we would have other parking in place (in close proximity) before we removed those spaces," he said.
The consortium's next step will be to refine the master plan, confirm the cost of the budget for the project and then proceed to securing funding.