Setting priorities for the waterfront was the main topic for discussion at a special Goderich council meeting Monday night.
Several public meetings over the last couple of years have produced a long list of things people would like to see down at the waterfront and it was clear from last night's discussions councillors feel it's time to establish some priorities.
At the top of the list was the boardwalk.
Mayor Kevin Morrison says it's one of the most visible and popular attractions along the waterfront. However, with higher water levels and deterioration of the boardwalk, parts of it can no longer be used and there are accessibility issues.
“The boardwalk is one of those gems down at our waterfront," says Morrison. "It's one that's continuously talked about by visitors and I also, of course, entered into the discussion talking about an accessibility mat, similar to what other municipalities have for those with mobility issues, wheel chair individuals, and I think that's important.”
Morrison was pleased to see council embrace the idea of an accessibility mat, similar to those used in other communities and it was agreed that would be an inexpensive and effective way to address the problem in the short-term.
A long-term solution to the waterfront could be changing the configuration of the road along the waterfront. Morrison says that would involve engineers and would also be influenced by negotiations currently underway between the town, Parrish and Heimbecker regarding a land swap to create a safer separation of industrial and recreational uses on the waterfront.
Council asked staff to further prioritize proposed changes.
“Certainly taking a look at different road configurations, as different flow, that's up to engineers to take a look and help us out there," says Morrison. "Right now the flow seems to be working well. But we do have a very unique harbour here in Goderich – we have an industrial and a recreational harbour and there's very few municipalities that have that.”