Boaters not thrilled with Marina Park conditions

Improvements have been made to accommodate boaters at Marina Park, including free berths for anyone who agreed to stay away during last year’s construction season.

But that doesn’t mean some boaters are happy about the conditions they’ve returned to in 2011.

Used to parking adjacent to their piers, boaters are now forced to walk hundreds of metres to their berths, lugging any supplies they need for a day on Lake Superior.

Their guests have an even farther trek.

Brian Hudson, whose been using the marina for a few years, said he returned this summer hoping for the best. He now intends to pack up and find another home for his boat for the remainder of the summer after the weekend.

“I’ll be going to McKellar Marine after the Blues Fest because this place is just an inconvenience,” Hudson said. “There’s the parking, having to carry all of your gear down to the boat and it’s just awkward to get passengers down here.

“If you want to bring your family out here for a ride, you only have one (parking) pass and they have to leave their name at the gate and walk in and park downtown. It’s just an inconvenience.”

Approached for comment, another boater, who declined to be interviewed and did not give his name, expressed an equal amount of unhappiness.

“What I would have to say would not be fit to print,” the man said, walking briskly away as rain threatened in the afternoon sky. 

The city has actually increased the number of berths available at the marina to 280, about eight more than before construction began.

They’ve also opened a parking lot, limited to one parking pass per boater, adjacent to the pier offices and the temporarily closed city boat launches, said parks manager Paul Fayrick.

Other than a weather-related delay, Fayrick said he hasn’t heard many complaints.

“Everything’s been great so far,” he said. “We’ve had minor things here and there. We had a couple of issues with access on Pier 3, with construction slowing things down, but as of July 1, we had the parking lot open that is specifically for the boaters now, and we think that should help us over there.”

Fayrick admitted it’s a change for boaters to get used to, adding the city has been providing carts for them to lug their stuff to and from their boats.

“In the past we’ve had parking directly on Piers 1 and 2, but with construction this year, we’re down now, in the future, to Pier 1 for parking. The construction has meant our boaters can’t park on Pier 1 until next year. So we’ve got about 155 spaces into this parking lot. It’s a bit of a walk, but it’s not that bad,” Fayrick said.

Because of limited spaces, Fayrick said they can’t simply open it up to the public. Otherwise many boaters might find themselves with nowhere to park.

Hudson said it doesn’t have to be this way.

“We’ve got way more boats and docks and less parking. And now they’ve got trees on islands down here that could have been parking spots,” said Hudson, who nonetheless said he plans to give the marina yet another shot in 2012.

“We’ll see what it’s like, and if it’s no better, I’ll probably just stick to McKellar Marine.”