Port authority curtails access to harbour area

[scotto]

Posted with full permission from the hamilton Spectator.

October 12, 2007
Eric McGuinness
The Hamilton Spectator
(Oct 12, 2007)
Post-9/11 security measures are closing a few windows on Hamilton Harbour.

The Hamilton Port Authority, following dictates from Transport Canada, is fencing off many of its facilities and installing card-access locks, electronic gates and video surveillance systems to limit access.

That means you won't be able to drive freely to the water's edge at Eastport along the Beach Strip, where the former Board of Hamilton Harbour Commissioners once maintained two public parkettes and viewing sites.

And you may find it hard to reach the water at the foot of some streets in the bayfront industrial area.

Danny Slade, manager of marine operations, told city council this week the authority has begun to implement the measures and expects to complete them by year-end.

After presenting a general outline, he said, "It would be prudent not to go into greater detail at this time."

Linda MacDonald, operations vice-president and harbourmaster, said a public meeting to explain the impact would be held sometime in December.

Ward 5 Councillor Chad Collins, whose east-end ward includes the Beach Strip, noted the harbour Remedial Action Plan calls for greater access and expressed concern over the Fisherman's Pier area and plans for a trail on the bay side of the sand strip.

MacDonald said the authority would soon be inviting proposals for recreational-commercial development at Fisherman's Pier, but has to secure access to its shipping and industrial areas.

"We will be controlling access to all of Eastport," she said. "There will be fencing."

She told Collins the two formerly public viewing sites "will be part of the controlled facilities."

Chain-link fencing has already gone up between Windermere Basin, which the city is developing as passive parkland, and the authority's road-rail bridge that connects Strathearne Avenue to Eastport across the basin mouth.

When Councillor Terry Whitehead asked how the authority plans mesh with the city's vision of access to the waterfront for the general public, Mayor Fred Eisenberger mentioned that he and councillors Collins and Bob Bratina are on a liaison committee with the authority, though it has not met regularly.

Councillor Brad Clark said he thought the port security measures were in keeping with tightened security around airports.

emcguinness@thespec.com

905-526-4650

 

[scotto]

On guard down by the harbour

The Hamilton Spectator
(Oct 13, 2007)
A 1967 painting by the late Frank Panabaker depicts a freighter moving through Hamilton Harbour against a background of wharfs, warehouses and industry smokestacks. In the foreground is a small sailboat, its wake crossing the path of the ocean-going behemoth.

It's been that way for a very long time: commerce and recreation co-existing, sometimes uneasily. One of the realities -- and attractions -- that accompanies Hamilton's recently renewed love affair with its harbour is that it is a working harbour. The waterfront trails and parks gain a sense of authenticity from the backdrop of the working harbour.

But another present-day reality is that security is now, appropriately, mandatory around any critical transportation hubs -- and Hamilton Harbour is just that. New fencing, gates, locks and surveillance cameras are on the way. Public access to Hamilton Port Authority (HPA) property has already been curtailed in some area and more fences will be going up.

Even though public access to the west harbour, the lake side of the Beach Strip and a few other recreation areas has increased dramatically in the past decade, the water's edge on HPA lands is becoming off-limits.

It's not the port authority's fault. This is the way it is in the post-9/11-Afghanistan-Iraq-War-on-Terror world. If the port authority did not upgrade security, U.S. customers would likely be denied permission to accept or send goods through Hamilton.

It is good news that Fisherman's Pier, the HPA's planned recreation-commercial development adjacent to the ship canal, is still moving ahead. That's an excellent complement to the trails on the west harbour and the planned Windermere Basin parkland. But a plan for a waterside trail on the harbour side of the beach strip appears to have been scuttled.

The HPA plans a public meeting -- to explain the impact of the new security, not to compromise on it. But efforts should be made by the authority and the city to find ways to meet security mandates without crippling the plans for public harbour access. What's worrisome in that regard is the admission by Mayor Frank Eisenberger that a liaison committee meant to keep communications open between the port authority and city council has not met regularly.

That committee is important. Most Hamiltonians can remember the "bad old days" when the city and the former Hamilton Harbour Commissioners seemed at permanent loggerheads. The relationship was characterized by turf war, competing visions for the harbour and self-interest on both sides. It hit its nadir in 1998 when the city launched a $100-million lawsuit. An agreement and land swap in 2000 ended the acrimony and has paid off in new public access and attitudes.

But regular communication is critical. It's important the city and the authority stay abreast of each other's plans. The mayor and councillors Chad Collins and Bob Bratina are council representatives to the liaison committee; they need to make sure it doesn't fall by the wayside.

Hamilton used to be defined by its industry; now, increasingly, we define ourselves by our geography and natural assets -- especially the harbour and Lake Ontario. Residents and visitors have had a taste of a new open waterfront and have seen a new perspective on the city. They won't be happy at any steps backwards.

Robert Howard

Editorials are written by members of the editorial board. They represent the position of the newspaper, not necessarily the individual author.
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In my opinion, this is a big step backwards. People walking on the path or fishing off a pier are a big security threat, oh please.:bang:

 

[waterlilly]

This will make for a lot of angry business along there! As a the local courier delv persons,
that make a lot of delv along that area, have no time to wait for an access gate to open!
I wonder if they will try to eliminate the only good boat ramp around for miles. Fishermans pier?

 

[scotto]

This will make for a lot of angry business along there! As a the local courier delv persons,
that make a lot of delv along that area, have no time to wait for an access gate to open!
I wonder if they will try to eliminate the only good boat ramp around for miles. Fishermans pier?

Have to worry about those terrorists, they are everywhere.
The Port has plans to add some commercial development in that area, I guess that's OK since terrorist won't visit there, just the path that should be there.
This 911 BS has gone too far.:bang:

 

[waterlilly]

Try working in the mail/ courier industry, when some one is trying to ship something to the US.

I feel like telling the customer to just send a check!lol

Thanks to the shoe bomber trying to mail anything is next to impossible if
you fill out your customs docs wrong.:silly:

 

[scotto]

I see the rational of some of the 911 upgrades to the harbour, but fencing off barren rock seems completely over the top.
And this is just the beginning of much more to come, soon they will have cameras watching those rocks.