City looking for public input on Stage 2 of London’s One River Master Plan

The city is in the midst of completing Stage 2 of the One River Master Plan, but before they finalize the details, they want to hear from the public.

A public information centre is being held at the Central Library Branch at 251 Dundas St. from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday.

There, Londoners will be able to check out the preferred alternatives for the project’s three components — decommissioning the Springbank Dam, The Back to the River inaugural project — Forks of the Thames, and the river management plan.

For the dam, the city is recommending it be partially decommissioned.

“What this means is that aspects of the structure such as the hydraulics, the electronic equipment and potentially the gates will be removed, but the concrete structure would remain in place,” said Ashley Rammeloo, One River project manager.

“That concrete structure has a significant amount of life left in it, and with some rehab work, it could be re-purposed into a public amenity space,” she said.

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When it comes to the Back to the River project, the preferred option is a suspended walkway combined with naturalized terracing and public spaces, said Rammeloo.

“This ensures the original look and intent of the award-winning Ribbon of the Thames is maintained while meeting the environmental constraints,” she said.

“It will feature a double suspension walkway, amphitheatre seating and performance spaces. It’s a really beautiful area that I think Londoners will enjoy.”

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As for the River management plan, Rammeloo said they’re looking at how people interact with and access the river as well as how the environment can be protected.

“Our short-term objective is to provide strategic access to the river corridor for activities and access,” said Rammeloo.

“This includes new lookout points, improving or repairing existing lookout points as well as access for canoes and kayaks,” she said.

“[We want to create] places where people can just get down and interact with the river, whether they want to just view it, fish in it and so on.”

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In the long-term, they want to incorporate natural enhancement projects, which include fixing the shoreline, protecting and improving natural heritage features and creating new access points.

“It’s really about balancing nature and humans interacting with the river.”

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Once the preferred alternatives are finalized, the master plan and the environmental assessment reports will be sent to full council.

According to Rammeloo, that will happen early in the new year and then they will go to the ministry for approval.

After everything is approved, Rammeloo said they will move straight into the detailed design plan phase for decommissioning Springbank Dam as well as the detailed design for the Forks of the Thames.

The cost of partially decommissioning the dam is between $1 million and $4 million and Rammeloo said if they choose to remove the gates, the price will be on the higher end.

As for the Forks of the Thames, she said the estimated cost is between $10 million and $12 million.