Kingston Waterfront News

Wed, 18 Jul 2012 01:24:00 GMT

The 2012 PRIORITY MATRIX - Q2 update is presented to Council at the July 17, 2012 meeting.

Before reading further, please see my comments on the 2012 Priority Matrix as presented to Council in February 2012.

Disregard that the table on Page 3 of the latest report is festooned with glaring naming and tallying errors.

As in the February report, there's nothing waterfront-related in Exhibit A - 49 (actually 52) initiatives due for completion by 2012 year end.

Exhibit B - 27 (actually 67) initiatives due for completion by year end (sic) contains the same two waterfront items as in February, no progress to report. These are:

Item #1 labeled "Study: Lakefront/waterfront plan" and has STILL has no due date or shows any comments.
Item #38 labeled "Visioning for Douglas R. Fluhrer Park" and has a compeletion date of Q1 2014 which is a ridiculously long timeline. You can tell there is no will to do this.

Question: how does the 2012 priority matrix Exhibit B, mislabeled and mistallied as it is, grow from 42-items in February to 67-items in July?

Answer: because nobody at City Hall has any balls, and because nobody really vets this shit.

Exhibit C - 33 (actually 77) initiatives due for completion in 2013 and 2014 contains the same singular waterfront item, Lake Ontario Park. This projet is minimally about its waterfront, addressing there some grievous deferred maintenance more than anything truly new or better since 1950.

So there you have it. An out-of-control priority matrix that, on balance, has fuck-all for waterfront.

Sat, 16 Jun 2012 20:37:37 GMT

REMEMBER LAST YEAR?

That was then.

The latest LAKE ONTARIO WATER LEVEL FORECAST now predicts relatively low water throughout the summer.

Which is to say, at least a foot lower than last summer through the end of July.

Overall the bad news persists: the big lakes upstream -- Lakes Huron and Superior -- are still far below long-term averages.

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 02:07:18 GMT

Major Kingston Regattas
Year	Worlds	N.As
2012	1	4
2011	0	2
2010	0	6
2009	1	7
2008	1	6
2007	7	4
2006	0	2
2005	1	1
2004	0	1
2003	1	5

KINGSTON'S 2012 MAJOR REGATTA PICTURE is much heavier this year than last.

One World Championship and four North American Championships are booked.

This summer's premier event, the Shark Worlds, is hosted by KYC at the end of August.

Our last Worlds' was the Byte CII Worlds in 2009. So it's been awhile

CORK still lists the Byte CII World Championships in June but that regatta won't happen.

More details in our list of major regattas in Kingston.

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 22:28:52 GMT

ALSO AT COUNCIL this week: $60,000 for the Kingston Inner Harbour Sediment Remediation Initiative.

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 18:38:05 GMT

The 2012 PRIORITY MATRIX is presented to Council on Tuesday's (February 21, 2012) meeting.

The matrix is presented in a new format this year, segmented in three exhibits. It's too bad the exhibits aren't properly labeled.

Exhibit A lists 49-items due for completion in 2012. We find nothing related to waterfront in Exhibit A. There's also nothing related to bike trails or parks unless by "park" you mean parking.

So don't hold your breath to see waterfront accessibility improvement this summer.

Exhibit B lists 42 initiatives for completion between 2012-2014. Those of waterfront interest:

Item #1 is labeled "Study: Lakefront/waterfront plan" and has no due date or shows no comments.
Item #38 is labeled "Visioning for Douglas R. Fluhrer Park" and has a compeletion date of Q1 2014 which is a ridiculously long timeline. You can tell there is no will to do this.

Exhibit C lists 33 all initiatives from the Corporate Work Plan in Kingston's Strategic Plan that are due for completion in 2013 and 2014. Just one item has a waterfront component:

Item 14 is "Upgrade and complete construction of the Lake Ontario Park rejuvenation plan" and it's listed as Q4 2013.

That's it. Three items out of 124, and two of those are studies with either no due date or a ridiculously long horizon.

This is all very disheartening, of course. Kingston's relationship with waterfront continues to suck.

More importantly: Why aren't stages of the Great Cataraqui River Trail Project not listed as priorities by 2014?

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 02:43:19 GMT

SURPRISE! You would think that a winter with negligible snow accumulation would have negative impacts for Lake Ontario Water Levels come springtime.

The latest LAKE ONTARIO WATER LEVEL FORECAST predicts higher than normal water levels into the summer.

This makes little sense because the big lakes upstream are still well below long-term averages.

Sun, 11 Dec 2011 16:58:53 GMT

A LASALLE CAUSEWAY Lift Bridge Marine Traffic Survey is underway at http://www.lasallebridge.ca.

The purpose of the survey is to help us to better understand the use and economic value of the lift bridge.

Take a moment to fill-this-out if this matters to you.

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 05:51:25 GMT

INTERESTING AGENDA ITEM for the November 1st Council meeting.

City staff is recommending the addition of Pay and Display parking on the west side of Emily Street. This is a prime parking area for Kingston General Hospital patients and visitors. The additional parking spaces will also accommodate waterfront park users, particularly windsurfers at Richardson Beach.

This is great because recent renovations to the Richardson Beach area eliminated some parking, and the west side of Emily street has been a no-parking zone for many years. It looks like this is about to change.

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 18:50:13 GMT

THE OCTOBER 11th Environment, Infrastructure & Transportation Policies Committee Meeting has the proposed Multi-Purpose Trail on the West Side of the Greater Cataraqui River on its agenda.

More on the Great Cataraqui River Trail.

Fri, 2 Sep 2011 16:35:59 GMT

KINGSTON ROWERS Rob Gibson and Will Crothers won a bronze medal in the Men's Eight finals at the world championships in Bled, Slovenia.

In the process, the team also qualified for the 2012 London Olympics by placing in their semi-final heat.

Here's Mike Koreen's Whig Standard story about it.

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 19:49:15 GMT

WHAT GOES UP, it is said, must come down.

The latest LAKE ONTARIO WATER LEVEL FORECAST shows the extent to which Lake Ontrio levels have dropped since late spring.

Right now we are about the long term average.

As for the big lakes upstream, they are still well below long-term averages, but higher than predited earlier this year.

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 20:46:19 GMT

THE LINK to the Bypass Log For The City of Kingston.

It's improved; you can page back in history.

Fri, 15 Jul 2011 13:05:08 GMT

THE CITY has posted its July 2011 City Priority Matrix.

Here's K7's summary of waterfront-related priorities found in the document.

Of the 86 items in the matrix, only seven concern waterfront.

Just three of those would improve access and two of those are actually being implemented: Lake Ontario Park and Richardson Beach. The third item, the proposed Cataraqui River Trail Project, is citizen-led and still a long way off.

Nothing has changed since the April 2011 Priority matrix except the Richardson Bath House and landscaping work is complete.

Very disappointing overall.

Fri, 15 Jul 2011 12:50:31 GMT

THE JULY EDITION of the Thousand Islands Life e-zine is now online with a couple of interesting local stories.

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 13:37:07 GMT

POKER RUNS AMERICA final 2011 schedule is more modest than the one published last January.

Back then there were six poker runs scheduled in the immediate region or closeby.

Evidently the events in Valleyfield, Gananoque, and Muskoka have been scrubbed.

The 1000 Islands Poker Run (labeled "THE BIGGEST, MEANEST and BADDEST") stinks-up Kingston Harbour August 5-7, which is one day longer than originally advertised.

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 14:35:53 GMT

A SECOND FERRY for Wolfe Island? The Ontario Ministry of Transportation thinks so.

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 14:10:43 GMT

"A WONDERFUL SHOWPIECE ON THE CITY'S WATERFRONT!" are words historically uttered by Kingstonians with absolutely no clue.

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 13:26:51 GMT

LINK to the Whig article about a recent Provincial grant to MetalCraft Marine.

Thu, 26 May 2011 17:27:26 GMT

GOOD VIDEO of Hub Steenbakkers of Collins Bay Marina explaining to CKWS-TV all about wisely using new-style inflatable life jackets.

This was part of a recent event to educate the public about boating and life jacket safety.

Fri, 20 May 2011 04:30:54 GMT

EPIC.

Fri, 20 May 2011 04:13:29 GMT

HUB AND MICHELLE STEENBAKKERS at Collins Bay Marina have won the Natural Marine National Environment Award

Sun, 15 May 2011 23:05:38 GMT

F7U12

Tue, 3 May 2011 22:11:59 GMT

KINGSTON'S DAVIS FAMILY has recently posted some great regatta results.

Paul Davis the father just won his third Soling World Championship in Chiemsee, Germany.

Son Robert Davis just placed second at the 2011 Laser Atlantic Coast Championships at Wrightsville Beach, NC.

Thu, 28 Apr 2011 22:01:27 GMT

ANTEDILUVIAN FORECASTS laid waste.

No surprise; the latest LAKE ONTARIO WATER LEVEL FORECAST is up sharply over what was predicted earlier this spring.

Right now we are about 8 inches higher, just above long-term average, and the outlook for the first half of the summer looks about 4 inches higher than forecast six weeks ago. That's great news.

As for the big lakes upstream, no tangible change in their forecast levels; still well below long-term averages.

Wed, 20 Apr 2011 16:34:15 GMT

THE SNOWBIRDS OVER RMC on May 21 and 22 2011.

Mon, 18 Apr 2011 20:51:58 GMT

Major Kingston Regattas
Year	Worlds	N.As
2011	0	4
2010	0	7
2009	1	7
2008	1	6
2007	7	4
2006	0	2
2005	1	1
2004	0	1
2003	1	5

KINGSTON'S 2011 MAJOR REGATTA PICTURE looks light this year.

No Worlds' and four North American Championships booked so-far.

Our last Worlds' was the Byte CII Worlds in 2009.

Not included in the 2011 tally is the Canadian Lightning Class Pan-Am Trials, July 1-3 hosted by KYC, which is the summer's first and possibly most hotly contested.

More details in our list of major regattas in Kingston.

Thu, 7 Apr 2011 16:54:23 GMT

ACCESS DENIED in the Wednesday Whig about the fenced-off dock behind KPH.

Here's a growing list of Kingston waterfront's currently fenced-off locations linking to photos.

The KPH Dock, subject of the article.
Collins Bay Wharf, deemed unsafe (for what? strolling??)
The Gibson Dock
Confederation Basin Docks
The Trail behind Fort Henry
Fort Henry Hill
Lasalle Causeway fishing
Marine Museum Wharf East
Marine Museum Wharf West

Missing any?

Grim!

Tue, 5 Apr 2011 01:22:02 GMT

THE CITY has posted its April 2011 Priority Matrix.

It's not a long document but it's one of those PDFs rotated such that you can't easily read it.

Here's a summary of waterfront related priorities found in the document.

In short, 78 items in the list, seven concern waterfront, but just three would improve access and two of those are actually being implemented: Lake Ontario Park and Richardson Beach.

The third item, the proposed Cataraqui River Trail Project, is citizen-led and a long way off.

VERY slim pickings.

Thu, 24 Mar 2011 20:14:42 GMT

HERE'S A PHOTO of one of the concept drawings for the third crossing of the Cataraqui River.

Click for a larger version.

The project page is here: http://www.cityofkingston.ca/residents/transportation/thirdcrossing/.

The minimum clearance for fixed links over navigable stretches of the the Rideau Waterway is 22 feet.

Fri, 11 Mar 2011 14:16:23 GMT

As you might expect given recent rains, LAKE ONTARIO WATER LEVELS are up sharply.

The latest WATER LEVEL REPORT now shows insight into what to expect throughout the Summer: slightly higher levels than last year, and slightly higher than last December's forecast, but still about 5" below long-term averages.

As for the big lakes upstream, their forecasts have been revised downward since we last looked; so bleaker.

Tue, 22 Feb 2011 00:37:11 GMT

UNDER THE RADAR,, to say the least, is the apparent done-deal about the future of the 122-acre waterfront KPH property on King Street West.

So typical too: An imminent public meeting, and absolutely no details about plans are online.

To paraphrase: Come to the meeting to read all about our done-deal, presented to you on poster-boards. Queue before each one, 5 to 10-deep, and read 'em.

This is bullshit. This form of "Community Engagement" ought to be unlawful. This is exactly how we ended-up with our ruined, inaccessible, and screwed-up waterfront.

Public meetings should occur only after ALL plans are posted online for review and citizens have had sufficient time to prepare for the meeting.

Must hand it to them: it's a perfect way to run a railroad.

Here's the project page on the Ontario Realty website.

Mon, 21 Feb 2011 17:32:31 GMT

SANTANDER SPAIN, not Kingston, will host the 20104 ISAF World Championships.

Sat, 12 Feb 2011 19:44:56 GMT

ONTARIO stops offshore wind power development from The Globe yesterday and from The Whig today.

Here are details and diagrams of the proposed Main Duck Island wind farm, which consequently is now on hold.

Sat, 8 Jan 2011 21:15:50 GMT

POKER RUNS AMERICA has five event weekends planned nearby this summer:

Alexandria Bay (June 17th - 18th),
Ottawa (June 24th - 26th),
Valleyfield, QC (July 1st - 3rd),
Gananoque (July 22nd - 23rd), and
Kingston (August 5th - 6th)

They also stink-up Muskoka (July 15th - 17th), so six of nine announced locations are in Canada, five of them in Ontario.

Which tells you something.

Sat, 8 Jan 2011 20:51:50 GMT

REALLY nice overview of Lake Ontario Park and Area.

Tue, 21 Dec 2010 22:01:13 GMT

2011 FISHING REGULATIONS are online.

Of local interest are Zone 18 covering the inland lakes of Eastern Ontario, and Zone 20 covering all of Lake Ontario and the St-Lawrence River including the Great Cataraqui River south of Kingston Mills.

There's a great fish identification chart as well.