As I walked along the waterfront off of downtown Nanaimo today, I was struck by how many people were out and able to enjoy the sunny day in such a beautiful place. It’s a crying shame Rupert has been unable to work out some kind of effective plan to integrate it’s various waterfront user-groups (,the rail line, fish-boats, private boats,the general public,etc) into a cohesive and attractive package like Nanaimo offers. Within a few blocks stroll there are parks, a salt-water swimming pool, a public fishing breakwater , a commercial float-plane base, fishing boat and sailboat docks along with floating restaurants, ferry terminals (Galliano and Newcastle Island), parking facilties, shops and cafes. All of these are connected by a strolling path that is easily accessible for the handicapped and the area was swarming with seniors, young couples with kids and couples of all kinds, including a few very well-heeled yachting types who has just docked and were enjoying themselves immensely. Kayakers, pleasure-boaters and sailboats made the waters very lively and nobody was stumbling over pot-holes or railroad ties. I was trying out my new digital camera and sent my mom a bunch of the pictures and even she mentioned that it would have been lovely to have had something like that down by the water when she used to visit us up there…
Sure it’s just a dream but can you imagine how much Rupert would benefit from something like this? It’s the kind of thing that would be a fantastic draw for cruise ship tourists and provide a place for the citizens to enjoy the beautiful harbour…somehow Nanaimo got their shit together at some point in the past and began revitalising and integrating, hopefully Rupert can too!!
I would love too see this on our waterfront we have such untapped potential here in Rupert, but really Prince Rupert is right in the middle of the cross road of bad karma, Prince Rupert has entered the twilight zone.
we are so friken backwards its not funny, lets build a dock for cruiseships but don’t build anything for them to see. I say build Rupert then build a fricken Dock.
We have cruise ships coming here 5 or so years and we still don’t have anything for them how long do think we will keep them here? I think if Rupert does not get its head out of citywest ass we will loose the cruiseship industry to Nanaimo or any other Vancouver island town.
Rupert again is putting all its chips on the container port and Citywest. Remember the golden age of the Pulp Mill, City didn’t try to sell it self, it’s the same again. People here don’t learn from the first mistake or the second mistake or the third mistake not even 10 times latter.
Things I would change if I could,
Move CN out of the water front. (CN pays for clean up)
Build park. With salt water pool, trails and such.
Sell lots to developers.
keep one area open for the carnival ( carnival at water front would be so cool)
Build a first nation’s cultural center somewhat like Skidigate.
I could go on but its depressing to think about all those cool things Rupert is missing, and will keep missing.
Downtown Nanaimo does HUGE business from tourism and I have to tell you, it’s because someone(s) realised that it’s not enough to have a lovely harbour, you need a draw down there to have people sticking around, spending money and making the experiance be not only enjoyable but to offer services as well, whether it’s clean public washrooms or lots of public parking. You need to offer things for people of all ages to do (a playground just off of the pool for instance and cafes that beg for you to linger) and make return visits a pleasure. After spending the last few years living in a community that centered around tourism and the big bucks that flowed in because of it, I was pleasantly surprised at how good a job Nanaimo did at making sure that the waterfront was a prime destination, not a place you only saw from the deck of passing ferry. Ladysmith as well has done a good job with turning what was once wasteland (coal shipping area) into Transfer Beach, with a great little concession, water-park, beach, ampitheater,picnic shelter and lots of park-space where concerts,festivals,car shows, etc,etc,etc happen all summer long and attract both tourists and the locals in droves. Not the high-end integration of Nanaimo’s water-front since the only two commercial ventures are the concession and a kayak-rental shop but something that is most certainly do-able in terms of Rupert getting something going on their water-front…
These are all great idea’s coming out here, but they are wasted if you don’t step up and make the effort to change things. There is always a way if you care enough about it. Rupert needs people with vision.
Start now…sure, you need to fix the crumbling infrastructure and work on the all the projects that have been put off the past few years because of dwindling city coffers but it’s never too soon to get a project like this off the ground. Considering the kinds of profits that the rail-line is going to be seeing once the container port gets going, perhaps hitting them up for land donations at the waterfront? Get the local service clubs going on raising funds for playground equipment and a water-park once a land donation looks like a lock since they are not cheap ($250,000 and up). Does the city have a planning manager? Someone needs to look at the bigger scope of the land usage from Seal Cove all the way to the ferry docks to try and make some sense of revitalisation,etc,etc. It’s a huge job but something that would be of huge benefit in the long run I think.
I agree that all these ideas sound great but the CN will NEVER NEVER EVER give up their piece of the waterfront. Not in a million years. The best we can hope for is to revitalize the rushbrook trail and do some development anywhere East of Rotary Waterfront Park.
A paved pathway from Rotary Park all the way to Seal Cove would be fantastic. It will take a lot of money to stabilize the cliffs above Rushbrook trail. If the community could start a fundraiser and come up with some of the money maybe the feds or the province could contribute. I wouldn’t count on the city to come up with that kind of money.
I wouldn’t add too many "never"s on there. My dad worked for the CN before he retired and I remember him mentioning that the CN was thinking seriously about closing the yard and moving everything out to Ridley. That was a few years back, but they have certainly considered it. They really don’t have much for infrastructure at the waterfront anymore, just a workshop and a lot of track. All that track isn’t going to do much for them if anything for the container port.
MY Dad also worked for CN many years before retring and the did move it out to ridley Island he only worked out there for a couple yrs before retirng , he has now passed away 2 yrs ago but they do need to do something with the buildings down thre since they are no longer used. and my dad also said CN was seriously thinking about doing something with the Yard after they moved it to Ridely but they have not done a thing for at least 15 yrs or more.
Perhaps the community as a whole should think of revitalising the waterfront as a way of showing that Rupert is going to be reborn (yet again?) and will come back better than ever. I’m betting that options for moving the rail lines mostly out of the area below the mall can be looked at (you have to cross a set of rail-lines to reach the park at Ladysmith’s Transfer Beach so it can be done) in terms of the company getting some perks in exchange for the land,etc,etc. When you think of all the wasteland down there that is begging to be used and the views that could be had for all to enjoy instead of sidestepping potholes??
Quite honestly, it’s been too long coming for a city that wants to be a tourism destination rather than just a stop along the line. Rupert needs to get something to be proud of that is a very public show of how great the place can be and a waterfront park/developement is the thing I think that can help get that done. It’s not going to be easy or fast but once it’s there, it’s going to be a real jewel and of economic benefit as well.
If you look at many of my prior posts I have always been a proponent of booting CN. They have given up the “longhouse” on the waterfroint to the city as it was too expensive to maintain and they didnt want the headache.
Its too late…we have bent over fro CN in this community for 20yrs, even longer. Collectively not one community leader has stood up for the benefit of the people, when dealing with the waterfront.
I would be willing to be part of a recreational advocacy group that wants to see the waterfront grow into a beautiful place.
The casino is a horrible idea. Do you see how many people in this town gamble everyday? If you thought it was bad now, it’s going to get 100 times worse.
Mcsash , I think that is a great idea and I believe this should be put into effect as soon as possible , we have lost many great areas to walk and everything seems to be that fn super port shit , rent raised , talk of malls , landlords going crazy and getting fined for so called trespassing . I believe that many of us are not being heard or listened to . But maybe if you owned a big hotel you might have a chance . I would be more then willing to take action.
For Thoughtful Citizen if the right people would step to plate we may have more choices , their are some real grassroots people out there who I believe still have it if you know what I mean . Crazy Mike you are also right about shit or get off the pot and do something about it , maybe we could talk with Pond ( thats if he is in town this week ).
Ok people…we sit here and bitch on HTMF, but what do we actually do about it? Nothing…post after post…
Well I have had enough…and mind you it may be too late BUT…better late than never.
I want to set up a group of PR residents who are concerned about the diminshing park land, and lack of waterfront beauty. If we get toghter and hear each others voice we could come up with a formal agenda to present to council or the port.
As soon as I receive 15 interested people from HTMF an add will be posted in the snooze inviting all members of the community to attend this public gathering.
Send me a message here and lets go from there
I’m hoping for the best to come out of this discussion and that people can get together to make something work for both the citizens of Rupert and those that visit your fair city. As I’ve said before, some kind of recreational revitalisation is long overdue for the waterfront and I agree it’s up to the people to get out there and get things going…don’t rely on the politicos to get this going since they don’t seem to know what to do with the space.