Hamilton waterfront repairs

Repairs to the trail along the beach at Confederation Park are underway. The ice storm earlier this month further battered the trail already damaged from last summer’s historic high water levels.

The same can be said of the trail at Bayfront Park but restoration there won’t start until later this year.

Kara Bunn manages the city’s parks. She says there are two options: either simply repair the trail or build a stronger retaining wall.

“We are now in receipt of plans from our shoreline engineer. They detail different design options for us that we will be taking to council this June. We can put some rock in to hold the shoreline and then fix the asphalt or we can build up with armour stone and then put more rock in behind to hold it.” The estimated cost of repairs is in the millions.

In last year’s flooding, the high water level combined with brutal winds and wicked waves ravaged the edge of the trail in a number of spots from Bayfront to Cootes Paradise. It forced the city to close the trail for several months. Some of the damage from last year has now doubled in size thanks to the recent ice storm.

The city is working with the Conservation Authority to rebuilt sections of the trail. A motion was put forward to council Monday to ensure adequate funding is available for restoration work and future impacts of climate change.