Diagram indicates possible reconstruction of King's Landing wharf.
Further discussion about the King’s Landing wharf continued at City Council’s Wednesday night meeting, but the question remains: repair it or reconstruct it?
Fundamentally, the City-owned dock is in need of a significant capital investment to see it remain functional, and doing nothing is not an option.
With the inevitable in mind, City Council voted in favour of investigating next steps in solidifying a final plan.
“The engineers have identified that the wharf won’t last, it has to be replaced,” said North Bay Mayor Al McDonald. “It’s going to be $2.5 million dollars, and we’ve known that for about two years.
“But we need a plan before we can do anything and council has to take a look at it too.”
Some of those potential plans were put forward in the commissioned report from Mitchell Architects Inc. in a Waterfront Tourist Commercial Attraction Feasibility Study. The report was initiated under expressed concern that the waterfront is an under-utilized destination.
In total, four distinct plans were presented, each offering unique characteristics and a major overhaul to the waterfront area, with options ranging from $2.5 million on the low end to over $14 million on the high end.
The goal of each solution, according to the presentation, is to “create a more dynamic, year-round destination with improved amenities, expanded recreational activities, accompanying commercial opportunities and linkages to the downtown.”
Most notably, the report recommends a new docking location for the Chief Commanda II closer to the Chief Commanda I, while the existing wharf would be turned into a landscaped spit.
Other future recommendations would include a relocated boat launch, an expanded boardwalk, a water-feature that could be used as a skating rink in the winter, additional picnic shelters, and a wakeboard cable park, to name only a few.
While the visionary photos and computer-generated plans were commended for their visual appeal, multiple councillors raised concern with the cost that each option represented, even with the possibility of incremental improvements.
“The problem that bothered me was that they didn’t identify the real cost to what’s really involved in fixing the dock,” said Councillor Mark King, “We saw the Memorial Gardens project spiral out of control, knowing full well what was going on there. That’s why I questioned the architect with where exactly are these numbers coming from?
“There were no solid, hard figures that indicated where it was going,” King continued. “It’s easier said than done.”
King's Landing is named in honour of Don King, father of Mark and a former city councillor.
Despite the concern, a vote was passed that will investigate the next steps into developing an urban-design land-use plan that ties the waterfront and downtown together in a way that will realize the benefits of Wednesday’s presentation.
While the proposed projects were long-term in nature, council acknowledged the need to get the ball rolling before the already-existing waterfront attractions fall apart. As was said in the report, “the wharf facilities have effectively reached the end of their useful serviceable life.”
“If you don’t have a wharf, you can’t have a Chief Commanda II,” said Mayor McDonald. “It’s always good to take a look at every option that’s out there.”
The 380-metre wharf, which was originally built in 1947, needs significant capital investment in a time when the City budget is tied up elsewhere, something City councillors expressed concern over Wednesday night.
“We don’t have the money right now to do that project; we would need the provincial and federal government to come to the table,” said McDonald. “We have money allocated in 2015 and 2016, but that’s a few years out, so we’re starting the process for a couple years from now.”
Beyond docking the Chief Commanda II, the wharf is a popular fishing and strolling destination, while also being the primary breakwater protecting the marina.
In the past five years, the City of North Bay has invested $1.1 million in capital improvements to King’s Landing Wharf Marina, 60 per cent of which was spent on the marina and the other 40% spent on waterfront rehabilitation projects.
The formally federally-owned Government Dock was transferred to the City of North Bay in 1997, at which point the maintenance and development of the wharf became the City’s obligation.
Now, with the wealth of potential upside identified, the City is taking the next steps in bringing the wharf’s development to fruition.
How would you design the waterfront to enhance tourism and commercial opportunities? Let us know in the comment section below.
