Preparations underway for official opening of Trent Severn Waterway

In less than two weeks, the Peterborough Marina boat slips won’t be empty anymore, because the 2018 Trent Severn Waterway will be opening on May 18.

“You can see the Peterborough Liftlock behind us — it’s in testing today. Today, they are going to fill the tubs with water in preparation for our opening,” said Karen Feeley, communications officer with the Trent Severn Waterway.

“We’re just getting our grounds ready, putting paddle docks in the water for our paddlers, just making sure everything is ship-shape and ready for May 18,” she added.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We're just getting our grounds ready, putting paddle docks in the water for our paddlers, just making sure everything is ship-shape and ready for May 18," she added.

Things are also shaping up at the Peterborough marina.

READ MORE: Peterborough boating traffic bouncing back after slow start to season 

“We’re preparing the docks right now. We just had the sections installed and we’re waiting for the water to slow down,” said coordinator Don Jackson.

Usually, the Trent Severn Waterway is known as a highway for larger vessels but this year, they are encouraging paddlers to come out as well.

“This year, we are trying to reach out to the paddlers to let them know that you can also use the Trent Severn Waterway on your kayak and canoe so 50 per cent off seasonal lockage for paddlers this year is what we are introducing,” said Feeley.

Jackson said the Trent System is picking up speed and they are seeing an increase in American boaters stopping by.

“We’re expecting a very busy year. We’ve added some more seasonal boaters this year to make our docks look a little fuller and we’re anticipating a lot of boaters coming in to see us,” said Jackson.

“Last year, we had a fabulous season — we had 30 per cent over the year previous for attendance for vessels so hopefully, we’re going to build on that and see a great year again this year.”

The lock season is just over 20 weeks long and will wrap up on Thanksgiving Day on Oct. 8.