CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. - Kirsten Connor says a floating dock doesn’t belong in Charlottetown’s Victoria Park.
Connor, who used to sit on the city’s heritage review board, is talking about the city’s plans to install a temporary dock system between the playground and the tennis courts.
Construction is supposed to start sometime around mid- to late-August and will be designed for non-motorized craft and for people to walk out onto to enjoy the view.
“I cannot impress upon council enough the value of that view, that unobstructed view along the boardwalk and to think that we would put something artificial out there in that natural view . . . boggles my mind,’’ Connor said. “There doesn’t seem a sense of things belonging in certain places.’’
The dock system will cost the city $51,605. The contract was awarded to East Coast Docks. The city recently advertised a request for proposals that closed on July 17 for the purchase and installation for a low profile floating modular composite dock system. The dock will be engineered for tidal wave conditions and is corrosive resistant. It will also come expandable and accessible for the physically challenged. Council passed a unanimous resolution on July 18.
Coun. Mitchell Tweel, chairman of the parks and recreation committee, said it will be used for small craft vessels such as kayaking, canoes and paddle boats.
Connor said her husband has been a kayaker for years, pointing out that kayakers prefer to use a slip rather than a dock.
Connor is also concerned about the extra vehicle traffic the dock system could draw, saying the park is already “filled to the gills’’.
“People can’t park close to the view. Lots of people get a lot of enjoyment going down there and sitting in their cars and looking at the view. There really isn’t room.’’
Poll: Do you think a floating dock is a good fit for Victoria Park?
Not everyone agrees with Connor.
Mikey Wasnidge, a Charlottetown-based event organizer and previous board member with Fusion Charlottetown, said the tennis courts, swimming pool, baseball diamonds and playground equipment were all once considered “pending degradations’’ to the park’s natural beauty.
“Island youth have expressed a strong support for accessible new additions, events and activities in our parks and green spaces and this kind of waterfront access is certainly a move in that direction,’’ Wasnidge wrote in a guest opinion piece in The Guardian.
“We are blessed to have access to clean, swimmable water. Why should we not find as many ways as possible to take advantage of that?’’
