A permanent pier at Garry Point Park will not be built in time for the 2017 Canada 150 celebrations, which will likely feature various unique tall ships.
But what happens thereafter to a dozen steel pilings that have stood empty for four years and counting has yet to be determined.
Furthermore, the notion of a permanent pier at the point has sparked renewed discussion over the park’s reconstruction, as well as Steveston Harbour’s development.
Coun. Bill McNulty addressed Richmond city council on Monday, stating there are misconceptions surrounding the plans for a pier (or dock) at Garry Point.
“We are not going to be spending copious amounts of money,” said McNulty, who took exception to some readers’ letters submitted to the Richmond News.
In the week prior, at a parks committee meeting, McNulty, along with councillors Linda McPhail and Chak Au, had supported a new, 600-foot floating dock, at a cost of $1.5 million, to be placed at the steel pilings.
After seasonal maritime events, the new dock would have then been moved back to Steveston Channel and used for additional moorage at Imperial Landing.
Councillors Carol Day, Ken Johnston and Harold Steves voted against the proposal.
Instead, for 2017, the City of Richmond now plans to take the existing floating docks from Imperial Landing (in front of the boardwalk) and move them to the pilings.
Ergo, the city will have to make do without a dock at Imperial Landing during the tall ship events (in May and July 2017).
“There appears to be enough wharfing, so we won’t have additional expenses,” noted McNulty.
Council has, as of this week, approved a $900,000 plan to bring the Kaiwo Maru, a Japanese, tall ship to Garry Point and host a tall ships event in 2017.
The dock at Garry Point is needed because the Maru’s hull would bottom out in Steveston Channel.
McNulty said tall ships bring money into the local economy, although no recent documents presented to council outlining the Maru’s visit indicate what sort of economic impact it would have.
McNulty also noted the tall ships are a positive social and cultural community event.
Mayor Malcolm Brodie confirmed there has been no economic analysis, but said such an event will bring significant attention to the city. As well, Brodie added, it’s important to strengthen Steveston’s cultural ties to Japan. Steves is also a leading proponent of the tall ships, but voted against staff proposals for new infrastructure for Garry Point.
Steves said he opposed the dozen, “ugly” steel pilings when they were installed initially in 2010.
Instead, he said he supports a wooden pier at the location.
“The idea of the pier was to remove the piles but staff came up with something bigger. The message (from committee) wasn’t well understood,” said Steves.
Notably, any permanent structure at the location would need to be raised above the river, as a floating dock could not withstand stormy winters.
While Steves called the pilings “ugly,” he said park visitors would have to “live with it for a few years yet.”
When asked why the pilings could not be removed after 2017, Steves’ answer was two-fold.
First, he said removal is costly and, second, he believes events with deep-draft, tall ships will eventually occur annually.
However, Steves said he first wants the city to hash out plans for Steveston Harbour, including getting the ball rolling on a potential marina at Imperial Landing.
The parks committee created several new referrals for city planners, including: re-looking at the Garry Point Park legacy pier proposal (after committee unanimously dismissed a $5 million staff proposal); reporting on the status of the Garry Point Master Plan; bringing forward a proposal for the completion of the Phoenix Pond Net Loft; and researching the public/private partnership opportunities for a marina.
Notably, long-term plans may include redeveloping the Steveston Harbour Authority site immediately to the east of Garry Point Park.
McNulty said, “We want to see what the public wants to see at Garry Point.”
The News asked whether he thinks the public wants any changes at all to the park.
“I’ve heard people say we want to expand it, this or that, and that’s what we’ll ask,” he said, adding: “I want to hear from more people.”
At the parks committee meeting, area resident Loren Slye, who is the chair of the Steveston Historical Society, suggested a permanent structure for the tall ships.
