The local port authority is looking for public input as it works on a redevelopment vision for the lands that surround the Hamilton Harbour shipping canal, under the Skyway Bridge.
The 20-acre footprint, known as “Fisherman’s Pier”, is used mostly by fishermen, ship-spotters and bird-watchers, as well as pedestrians and cyclists using the waterfront trail.
The lands alongside the shipping canal are also home to the Beach Canal Lighthouse, which a volunteer group has been working to purchase and restore.
Larissa Fenn, the Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority’s project lead, says they aim to make Fisherman’s Pier a more welcoming space by improving recreational amenities like seating, landscaping and trails.
She says they can also envision “the base infrastructure for a pop-up summer market.
“You could imagine shipping containers selling ice cream and t-shirts and maybe there’s a band playing there on a Friday night,” Fenn offered.
Fenn adds that the lighthouse is an anchor for the whole space, because “it gives you an opportunity to talk about Maritime heritage.”
The public consultation is through their website at HamiltonPort.ca
The port is also offering a public walkabout at the site at 10 a.m. on Sunday, September 29.
The beach strip near Fisherman’s Pier was once home to an amusement park, which closed in 1978.
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