Following public consultation on access to Fairy Lake in the vicinity of Echo Bay Road, staff are recommending Tyland Park remain as is for now and that a water access pathway be constructed on an original road allowance at the end of Fairy Lake Road.
Manager of Parks and Cemeteries, Colleen MacDonald, was before Huntsville’s General Committee on April 26 recommending that the municipality retain a consultant at a cost not to exceed $10,000 to design a suitable pedestrian path to reach near the water’s edge.
She said the pathway would allow members of the public to access the water for various uses at that location and the funds for the consultant would come out of parkland reserves.
The results of the consultant design work would then be presented to the Community Services Master Plan and Waterfront Strategy Committee “for review and consideration for any budget recommendations to General Committee.”
The area contains a fairly steep slope and Huntsville Mayor Nancy Alcock wanted to know whether the pathway would be made accessible.
MacDonald noted that staff would be relying on the consultant for guidance on what can be done at the site “to make it the best possible use for as many people as possible. The slope is challenging, there’s no doubt about that. So we need to do further engineering research out on site to determine what is possible and find the property lines and make sure that we’re getting a design done that’s A. going to be suitable and B. consideration for maintenance, etc.”
Councillor Monty Clouthier said he’d like to see gravel up to the walkway “because there’s kind of a big enough parking area there… you could get two or three cars in, that way the cars are not on the road,” or parked in front of the neighbours’ driveway. He also said given the slope and the issue of accessibility, he’d like to see stairs put in which he said existed there in the past when the dock was pulled out. He said he believes area neighbours are okay with the plan as long as there is no dock there. He also said he does not want to close the door on the possibility of turning Tyland Park into a water access point with a dock in the future.
Councillor Dione Schumacher asked staff to speak about the difference between accessible and accessibility, for members of the public.
Director of Operations and Protective Services, Tarmo Uukkivi said: “Accessible means a couple of things in this case. It means access for everybody that lives, works, and plays in Huntsville. So visitors and residents alike, from outside the neighbourhood, from inside the neighbourhood. So that’s the first principle is that it’s accessible to all that way. Accessible also means that we can safely access the water point and that’s separate and apart from accessibility in terms of legislated compliance for the AODA [Accessibillity for Ontarians with Disabilities Act]. We have a little bit of homework to do in terms of seeking some legal guidance on whether there are exemptions for shoreline and natural features related to accessibility to the extent that we can make it compliant…”
Councillor Scott Morrison said he wants to make sure there is access for everybody to water but said it doesn’t mean there will be access for all at every point. He said the community services committee is looking at expanding access to water for those who don’t live on water and questioned why Tyland Park is not being considered for access through a dock. He said he realized there were some complaints regarding partying at the site and wondered if the hours of use could be limited.
Uukkivi said council can pass any bylaws they wish but it comes down to enforcement and there are challenges with that. He said the municipality faces challenges with bylaw resources, especially on evenings and weekends when those types of issues come up. He also noted that the OPP has similar challenges which would make enforcement more challenging.
Morrison suggested more bylaw enforcement and possibly motion lights to ensure the bad apples don’t ruin it for the rest of users. He also said he’d like to look at Tyland Park in the future as public access to water.
Alcock said that when the design consultation report is forwarded to the Community Service Masterplan Committee, the committee can discuss the issue further.
Deputy Mayor Dan Armour said he’s glad to see the recommendation go forward. “$10,000 is going to give us really good information on what we need to do at that site and it’ll give us site ahead for Tyland Park at the same time.”
Related: Community meeting to be held regarding two public water access points
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