Celebrating and watching the Kingston Ontario waterfront
THE PROPOSAL for an 8-km multi-purpose trail on the West Side of the Greater Cataraqui River is on the City Council Agenda for Tuesday September 7th.
Unfortunately the agenda is so packed that they likely won't get to it. For years Harvey Rosen has been a miserable failure at chairing Council meetings such that now Council's backlog is beyond laughable.
For more information there's a detailed article, with video, in the Saturday Whig. Also the video and transcript from CKWS-TV News on July 14th is still available online.
"WATERFRONT ACCESS" FINALLY appears to mean more than a future proximate footpath in a City of Kingston planning document.
This may be the first time that accessibility for shore diving is mentioned in a City of Kingston planning document.
The latest Comprehensive Planning Report to Planning Committee about the proposed Queen's Performing Arts Building at the Tett Centre says the following:
...the residents of the City of Kingston have enjoyed access to the water from this location for many decades for both passive enjoyment and active recreation, such as scuba diving. The wreck of the HMS St. Lawrence, largest War of 1812 battleship to sail the great lakes is located in 2 metres of water in front of this property and has a close post war association with the subject property.
The easement for public access along the waterfront will be included as part of the Site Plan Control process.
It's one thing to compel others, like Queen's University in this case, to build-in waterfront access. It would be nice if The City of Kingston did likewise for its own waterfront properties.
GREAT FORTNIGHT for Kingston's Berg Ellmers, 12-years old, who along with Ali Tenhove finished 12th overall in the 96-boat 420-class at CORK (for youth 19-and-under) and finished 10th overall at the 76-boat Optimist Canadian Championships (for youth aged 15-and-under) which just concluded in Hamilton.
DETAILS AND DIAGRAMS of the proposed Main Duck Island wind farm.
CORK International gets underway this week, Monday through Thursday inclusive.
This is the youth portion of CORK, the first of three major CORK events this month. The forecast for the first two days is windy.
Here's how the race areas are split along the waterfront. Click the image below for a larger annotated version.
- The 420 class is on Course Bravo.
- Laser, Laser 4.7 and all Byte classes are on Course Golf.
- Optimist and O'Pen Bic are on courses Mike and Alpha
- The 29er North Americans, this week's premier event, is on Course Echo.
- The Laser Radial class is on Course Charlie.
OPEN HOUSE at MetalCraft Marine on Friday August 20th 2010 from 1:00 to 4:00 pm. The theme is working waterfront.
If you haven't seen what goes on this part of the Inner Harbour, you really should.
RFP FOR RICHARDSON BEACH RENOVATIONS (7.3Mb.zip file).
If you find anything in there related to improving swimming at Richardson Beach, do tell.
BRACE YOURSELF: Waterfront accessibility appears to take significant importance in the Application for Zoning Bylaw Amendment for the Tett Centre which is on the Cily's Planning Committee agenda for tonight, August 5th.
Unfortunately there is no mention of accessibility for SCUBA diving, given that the Tett Centre property has been used for years to access one of Kingston's best shore dives.
DETAILS of the 2nd stage of the Third Crossing environmental assessment which will commence shortly.
The latest WATER LEVEL REPORT from the US Army Corps of Engineers is up..
Levels are much better; we're at the the long-term average, still about 5" below last year at this time.
KINGSTON IN A NUTSHELL: you mismanage maintenance at Confed, then you fail to respond to a visitor, then the visitor runs aground, then the local rag puts him on the front page, complete with photo.
Bravo!
WE HAVE A WINNER!
"Poker boats bring three to five million bucks to the city in three days."
-- Bob Ackley, muscle boat owner.
There's your stereotype, right there.
PRO-AM BASS DERBY IN TOWN through Saturday, from CKWS-TV News.
It's the Kingston Canadian Open of Fishing, also on Facebook.
COVERAGE of last Saturday's fire at Rideau Marina that destroyed their maintenance shop from The Whig, CKWS-TV News, and MetalCraft Marine.
WATERFRONT TRAIL PROPOSAL from downtown to Kingston Mills on the western shore of the Cataraqui River according to CKWS-TV News last week.
Never going to happen, at least not to the extent they imply in the news item. The Great Cataraqui Marsh is inviolable.
See for yourself the relationship between the water, the Marsh, and the CN tracks.
THE POKER RUN is on the FOCUS Kingston Steering Committee Agenda for their July 15th meeting.
It's amazing that a KEDCO report that KEDCO itself says is inaccurate and statistically insignificant is nonetheless touted, again, by City Staff apparently desperate to supinate for the BIA, greenwash the event, and give all this a positive cultural and historical spin.
Still no word on requiring Poker Runs America to purchase obnoxious-offset-credits.
Shorts:
KINGSTONIST on Token Park.
METALCRAFT MARINE just splashed a 69-foot red fireboat equipped with chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) defenses. It's destined for Jacksonville but you'll be seeing its sea trials here in Kingston Harbour over the next few months.
The rather windy OPTIMIST NORTH AMERICANS, which wrapped last Sunday, was swept by Americans including two brothers, Christopher and Duncan Williford, who finnished top-two in the very strong 196-boat fleet. How strong? The top Canadian was 35th.
PHOTOS from the World Robotic Sailing Championships, which went under-the-radar in Kingston this Spring.
Last time this happened was mid-May and it didn't turn out that way.
GREAT REGATTA so far at the Optimist North American Championships.
See over 3,000 photos by Geoff Webster and David Hein. Wow.
THE OPTIMIST NORTH AMERICANS get underway today. Very impressive list of 195 competitors from all over the world.
They will be racing on Course Alpha in Kingston Harbour. Here's a link to the sailing instructions.
SATURDAY FOR KIDS each Saturday morning at the Marine Museum throughout the summer.
STALE SEWAGE BYPASS LOG, three months out of date, on the Utilities Kingston website.
See also our archive of sewer bypass news items. Utilities Kingston is a disgrace when it comes to reporting and disclosure.
HIGH MUCKY-MUCKS set to unveil Token Park on Monday.
Presumably there will be much collegial back-slapping amongst those who've done a great job recently ruining Kingston's waterfront.
More details on the whole Token Park waterfront accessibility and functionality downgrade.
A FIFTH of all Lake Ontario Beaches are currently posted unsafe according to Lake Ontario Waterkeeper.
Meanwhile, here in Kingston, there is still no beach report avaiable from our lard-ass Health Unit.
RECENTLY IN THE WHIG: Plans at CORK, Laser sailor Robert Davis, and a letter calling for more public waterfront access.
SEVERAL SPOTS still available at the Kingston Yacht Club Sailing School, even the July sessions, for both kid's and adult programs. This includes some openings on their well-known racing team.
WINDFARM TURBINES on Wolfe Island are "shockingly" deadly for birds, bats from Wednesday's Globe and Mail.