An online petition to “save Garry Point Park” has been launched, with more than 900 signatures having been collected since last December, in addition to several hundred Facebook shares of the GoPetition.com page.
The petition opposes a tentative proposal from the City of Richmond’s parks department to install a permanent pier, or dock, at the popular park. It also takes issue with what it calls an “eyesore,” that being a series of steel pilings that have rested along the shoreline since 2010.
“We, the people of Richmond, have endured the visually offensive and disruptive steel pilings, located at the southwest edge of Garry Point Park, for over five years. Said pilings were installed without any public consultation and we want the pilings removed immediately!” states the petition, which is signed mostly by anonymous signatures (hidden from public view).
Most of the signatures are purported to have come from Richmond residents.
“We enjoy Garry Point and want to see it maintained in its natural state,” stated Oskar Kweiton on Sunday on GoPetition.com.
The petitioner states the park should not be turned into a “pocket cruise ship terminal,” citing city reports to the parks committee. Although none of those documents cite a specific proposal for such a concept, the idea has been floated in the past.
The empty pilings will be used for tall ship festivals in 2017 when the city floats docks from Imperial Landing to the pilings to accommodate the deep-hull boats.
That plan is in lieu of the initial proposals for a permanent pier or dock. Initially, at a parks committee meeting in November, Coun. Bill McNulty, along with councillors Linda McPhail and Chak Au, had supported a proposal to buy a second, new 600-foot floating dock, at a cost of $1.5 million, to be placed along the steel pilings. After seasonal maritime events, the second dock could then been moved back to Steveston Channel with the existing one and used for additional moorage at Imperial Landing. Councillors Carol Day, Ken Johnston and Harold Steves voted against the proposal.
Steves since said he wants a permanent dock but one without the “ugly” pilings.
A much larger $5 million “legacy pier” was also proposed to accommodate large ships for special events in 2017 and thereafter.
McNulty is scheduled to head back to Japan this April to secure the contract for the unique Japanese tall ship Kaiwo Maru in order for it to visit Steveston.
Bringing over the Kaiwo Maru will cost $575,000, but the city expects to earn back some of the funds via sponsorship contributions.
