The Belleville Street boat launch in Wellington will be closed for 2021 while county staff try to figure out ways to combat a number of problems that have presented in recent years.
At Tuesday’s county council meeting, councillors officially voted to close the boat launch for the year following a staff report outlining the many problems which, according to the report, have been “compounding year over year” and “reached a boiling point in the summer of 2020.”
The staff report put together by Director of Community Services, Programs and Initiatives Todd Davis detailed the problems which mainly surround traffic and safety concerns.
According to the report, boat launch staff were forced to diffuse multiple parking disagreements between boat launch users and staff at nearby properties last summer. On top of that, the OPP were often required to attend and the report says that the frequent disagreements created potentially unsafe work environments for staff.
As a result of this, the OPP provided a letter to go with the staff report supporting the closure of the boat launch due to the traffic and emergency access concerns.
The lack of available nearby parking and the resulting traffic problems were also highlighted in the report. The report says that due to the lack of parking, boat launch users last summer who were backing their trailers to the launch caused traffic disruptions on Wellington Main Street
The report says that in high usage times, launch users had to park approximately 600 metres away at the parking lot beside the Wellington & District Community Centre which exacerbated traffic congestion at Main Street.
With impending construction to begin on the new Wellington water tower in 2021 and the approved housing developments eventually being constructed in the area, the report says that the site will become unsustainable in the long term.
Due to the compounding issues of safety and traffic, staff recommend that the boat launch be closed for 2021 while a way forward is worked on.
There was no discussion by council and the matter moved directly into a recorded vote called by Councillor Brad Nieman.
Voting in favour of the recommendation were councillors Bill Roberts, Phil St-Jean, Stewart Bailey, Andreas Bolik, Mike Harper, John Hirsch, Kate MacNaughton, Ernie Margetson, Janice Maynard, Bill McMahon and Mayor Steve Ferguson.
Voting against were councillors Brad Nieman, Phil Prinzen and Jamie Forrester.
The final tally for the vote was 11 in favour to three opposed and the report was approved.
The aim is to have a longer term solution to present to council in the fall in conjunction with the Economic Development Committee’s Wellington Waterfront task team.
