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Water access
Unless you watched to the very end of the hour-and-half-long Committee of Council meeting, you would have missed a key bit of news last week. Wellington is getting a new boat launch. Good news for boaters, fishers, and beachgoers. Better yet, it sets up a range of fresh opportunities for Wellington Rotary beach. A group of residents is meeting on Thursday afternoon to talk about its future, potential, and protection. They will present their findings at a public meeting later in the day. (The public are invited to drop by the Wellington and District Community Centre at 111 Belleville Street between 4:30 p.m. and 6 p.m.)
This column opined many times before that the boat ramps in Wellington harbour were a mistake—likely borne of ease and habit than considered planning—remnants of an era that prized convenience over practicality.
There were two ramps in the harbour—one literally descending from the foot of Belleville Street, the other on the beach on what was once the loading end of a conveyor that carried sand across the bay to the former brick plant on the property now home to North Docks. The conveyance structure has long been removed, but its bones are still visible when water levels recede.
The problem is—always was—that boats require a trailer and typically a truck to bring them to the water’s edge. Then the trucks and trailers must be parked somewhere. This part was never well thought through.
On the Belleville Street side, the boat ramp hugs private property on both sides. Getting trailers turned around to back into the launch meant means trespassing. On some occasions, frustrated folks would simply back up through the intersection of Belleville Road and Main Street, attempting to gain access to West Lake. It didn’t work. Never did.
For a decade, Chris Bowles, in his role as harbourmaster, managed the mayhem, patrolling the docks, giving direction and laying down the law. But it was never sustainable. He knew it. When he retired and later passed away, chaos re-erupted.
So it was that the ramp was closed last year. For good.
That left the beachside ramp. But the parking situation isn’t much better. On any given summer’s day, a train wreck of trailers and trucks litters the delicate ecosystem of what is the northernmost reach of the geologically significant and environmentally sensitive sand bar formation. This cluster of entitlement has pre-empted consideration of better uses of this land and the means to protect it.
So it is big news that Shire Hall has struck a deal on the east side of the village to create a new boat ramp. It will also spend up to $30,000 to establish proper parking and facilities at this location. It is a one-year deal starting this month with an option for another year. The new ramp is at the Cer-A-Met Manufacturing plant at 16057 Loyalist Parkway. The facility has been used by Camp Trillium to transport kids, families, staff and supplies for a couple of decades, and will continue to do so.
At last, Wellington boaters will get a safe, secure, and easy-to-use facility to launch their vessels. Neighbours around Belleville and Main will be relieved of the conflict that has come to define this corner of the village in summertime. But the most exciting bit is that it enables this community to imagine a better, more accessible future for Wellington Rotary Beach.
In a news release on Monday, Shire Hall described it as an additional boat launch rather than a replacement. That is likely because the fate of the beachside ramp has not yet been decided. Fair enough. But it could have been clearer that future restrictions may prohibit vehicular traffic on this tender footprint. And should.
The Wellington Rotary Club has made the beach the centrepiece of its community-building efforts. They built an accessible boardwalk that circumnavigates the stub of a peninsula. They created sun shelters, built tables, erected benches, and developed informative signage around the beach telling the story of the intricate and diverse ecosystem that straddles two lakes.
Shire Hall built washrooms and regularly dredges the channel. There have been many great contributions by many folks over several generations. Many have worked diligently to preserve, protect and enhance the Wellington Rotary Beach. It is good news that an alternate boat ramp—and parking—has been arranged.
There was a time you could drive from Wellington to Lakeshore Lodge on the beach. Hydro poles lined the sandy lane. Cars on the beach as far as the eye could see. I expect there were some grumbles when that practice was stopped. But folks got past it. Today the prospect of vehicles on the beach seems bizarre.
Perhaps now we can now imagine a day in which Wellington Rotary Beach is free of cars, trucks, and trailers. We can begin to dream this week.
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