Extensive Cobourg waterfront project seeks community input

Nearly 60 people showed up at a Cobourg council committee meeting on Monday to hear comments on a massive, long-term plan to reshape Cobourg’s waterfront.

Thirteen people took to the podium to offer their input on a massive waterfront redevelopment plan that was before a meeting of the Committee of the Whole.

Up for discussion was The Waterfront User Needs Assessment and Detailed Design, which offers up 83 recommendations, split among 24 projects that would be implemented over 24 years. The plan hopes to accommodate what residents want while preserving natural heritage and generating tourism.

The report describes a place to launch canoes and kayaks, making improvements to change rooms and washrooms, and adding more food services and other revenue-generating business.

One of the improvements to the harbor includes adding more boat slips to the West Beach and Headland.

Some spoke in favour of the report, such as Mike Hubicki, the commodore of the Cobourg Yacht Club and a landscape architect. He said he wants to promote boating in a responsible and sustainable way, though he understands others might have concerns.

“I think the process has been fantastic, I am for it but I am also realizing that this is the first step in a 24-year process,” Hubicki said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I think the process has been fantastic, I am for it but I am also realizing that this is the first step in a 24-year process," Hubicki said.

Indeed, others voiced concerns. Some were opposed to adding boat slips because of the impact it will have on activities like dragon boating, canoeing and kayaking.

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Nancy Marshall, president of a breast cancer Dragon Boat team called Survivor Thrivers, says the team paddles in the harbour every Tuesday and Thursday night from May to October. She says if the expansion proceeds, there wouldn’t be enough space to successfully paddle.

“It was discovered by a doctor in Vancouver, Dr. Don Mackenzie, that dragon boating was beneficial to anyone who had been diagnosed with breast cancer. It helped to prevent lymphedema but more importantly, it offered emotional and just friendships, support to people that were going through terrible diagnoses,” Marshall said.

Voices from the community are an important part of the process because of the size and long-time frame for the plan.

Dean Hustwick, director of recreation and culture for the town of Cobourg, said the  plan has the most extensive community engagement process the town has ever seen.

“We’ve got a great report with lots of recommendations, but we also have a lot of investment that is going to be required in the harbor in the years ahead, and this council, or the future councils, are going to have to find the funds in order to upgrade the facilities,” Hustwick said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We've got a great report with lots of recommendations, but we also have a lot of investment that is going to be required in the harbor in the years ahead, and this council, or the future councils, are going to have to find the funds in order to upgrade the facilities," Hustwick said.

After the community members provided their final thoughts, consultants from Toronto-based Thinc design presented the highly anticipated final report on the waterfront.

Council will vote on the report during a meeting scheduled for June 11.

To review the full waterfront report, visit Cobourg.ca.

If the report is accepted, the Recreation and Culture Division would then work on an implementation plan based on the approved budget from the new council.