Pier closure a hot topic
By Joel Wittnebel/The Oshawa Express
The issues surrounding access to the Oshawa pier are to be the topic of ongoing discussions between City of Oshawa officials and the Oshawa Port Authority.
Following council approval, city manager Jag Sharma is to meet with the port authority to discuss the question of public access to the pier, with a meeting said to happen as soon as May 1.
The issue of pier access became a hot topic in the city after a letter was received from the OPA earlier this month suggesting that an incident that occurred in 2017 may cause them to stop allowing public access to the pier adjacent to Lakeview Park.
According to an earlier city report on the matter, that confidential letter from the OPA noted that following the 2017 incident, “(the OPA) reviewed their liability implications to the general public’s use of the west pier. Their insurance broker has recommended that public pedestrian access to the west pier be eliminated.”
In their letter, the OPA suggested that a possible solution could see the city take on some of the liability for continuing to allow public access to the pier.
However, an initial statement from the Durham insurance pool, of which Oshawa is a part, recommended doing no such thing.
The matter was also a topic of conversation during a meeting between the OPA and city officials, along with Mayor John Henry and Councillor Nester Pidwerbecki on April 20.
“There was an update provided by City staff on the matter related to public use of the pier. It was noted a staff report was presented to the Community Services Committee on Thursday April 19, 2018 and after discussion by the committee members the matter was referred back to staff to obtain additional information. The Port Authority is reviewing what needs to be done and what it would cost to continue to make the pier available to the public,” a council memo reads.
During council’s regular meeting on April 30, councillors suggested that there could be other potential solutions to the problems, including the installation of some form of lighting system on the pier to warn the public when a ship is pulling into the harbour and to leave the pier.
“You need to understand, there’s other opportunities how to bring boats in and make it safe for residents,” said Councillor Doug Sanders.
For Councillor Gail Bates, if co-insuring remains the only solution, the city should be willing to look at that option in order to support Oshawa residents, noting the city has no issue giving money to developers through Community Improvement Plans.
However, Sharma notes that it is premature to start speculating on potential outcomes, even when it comes to insurance.
“This is preliminary at best,” he says. “We will actually go back to the insurance pool to consider what options are, if it is required.”
With that aside, Councillor Rick Kerr says that the pier access issue should really come down to common sense, and that residents will stay off the pier in dangerous situations.
“In Canada, we tend to regulate the heck out of everything,” he said. “To absolutely prevent the citizens of Oshawa (from using the pier)…I think is a detriment to our citizenry.”
And while the issue has erupted in the public realm, Councillor Nester Pidwerbecki wanted to make it clear that the city is committed to working to keep the pier open.
“We will pursue every avenue we can to make that pier available to the public,” he said.
Oshawa Mayor John Henry acknowledged that moving forward, that will be some challenges when it comes to finding a solution with the port authority.
“We’ve always talked about the importance of access to the waterfront. The pier is part of our waterfront and I’m not sure how you would even stop people from going because even this winter with the gates locked and closed people would go out on the pier. So, it’s a conversation that has to take place,” he said.
Requests for comment from the OPA were not returned as of The Oshawa Express press deadline.