North Shore Park on Port Elgin’s waterfront is one of Saugeen Shores’ most cherished and oldest parks.
It includes a large area of treed passive space, a western exposure that offers spectacular sunsets across Lake Huron, an extremely popular walking trail that passes through its length which is the most used in the entire Town averaging over 700 persons per day in the summer, a classic picnic pavilion sponsored by The Port Elgin and District Lions Club, two washroom facilities, a fish cleaning station, splash pad, and children’s playground. The park also previously housed the Northshore Railway, a steam train that operated through the park for many years.
On September 7, 2021, a late summer severe storm caused considerable damage to North Shore Park. The storm caused hundreds of trees, primarily cedar, to be lost, turf damage from uprooted stumps, harbour dock damage, trail damage contributed by shoreline erosion, and damage to interior trails. Some clean-up and hazard tree removal were undertaken in the fall of 2021 with the remainder occurring in the spring of 2022.
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At Saugeen Shores Council Meeting of the Whole, a report was brought forward by Frank Burrows, Manager of Parks, stating that “… to ensure the restoration of the park was done in a coordinated manner, further work was put on hold until public consultation including a decision on the possible return of the historic steam train.”
In late 2021, Scott Pearson contacted Town staff with interest in bringing the historic steam train back to North Shore Park and, in May 2021, a staff report was presented to Council. Town staff were directed to work with Pearson to develop the details of the project and to return to Council.
Another significant milestone, according to Burrows, will in fact be April 11th when Pearson will return to Council to present a more detailed miniature train proposal. “The key aspect is that, if approved, the train proposal will be integrated with the park and that’s the reason we have held off on some of the landscaping and tree planting. We want to build a holistic plan in a coordinated way. Once the concept plan is determined, we will continue with landscaping and extensive tree planting.”
The report presented to Council on March 27th, explained that in the summer of 2022 considerable background research was undertaken including an updated land survey, legal review, and consultation with government agencies and that Pearson has further developed his train proposal and considered options to integrate it into the North Shore Park.
“There has also been erosion on the Northshore road due to high water,” said Burrows, “and after some preliminary engineering assessment we are looking at a significant range of options that include a significant range of costs and which will be brought forward to Council.”
He added that the blizzard that occurred over Christmas last year (2022) resulted in an additional 30 trees being lost. “Initial clean-up has occurred and we will be going back in this Spring to continue with raking and stump removal. Once the forest gets opened up, trees are susceptible to ‘windthrow’ and I expect more trees will be lost now that the park has opened up exposing existing trees to more windthrow. Sometimes, there is root damage and sometimes they are split. They may not appear to be damaged but I work personally with arborists to assess those trees and those assessed as a hazard are removed.”
Burrows also confirmed that a second public consultation will be held this summer and the feedback will “…guide the complete restoration plan”.
The September storm resulted in approximately 175 trees being lost with an additional during the December blizzard and, according to Burrows, following public feedback, there may be a variety of species. The park has been dominated by cedars as they traditionally grow on the type of terrain that makes up the park. “We will be working with tree specialists to determined the species that will be correct for that site.”
Deputy Mayor Diane Huber expressed concern over the level of funding. “In the budget right now, there is $800,000 sitting there and another three quarters of a million being talked about for next year’s budget. There are parts in Saugeen Shores where people live that are crying for park space. I appreciate rehabilitating the space … but at some point, we have to justify dollars being spent in areas where there are needs for passive park areas close to large residential areas.”
She pointed out that north of the Saugeen River in Southampton there is no park “… and, in Port Elgin, there are places where there is no place for kids to play. In our budget talks there is $550,000 related specifically to a parking lot and that is now referred to as capital funding. The shore matters but, at a certain point in time, Mother Nature is going to do what she is going to and there are other places that need significant spending on parks. We can’t just keep adding and adding to budgets like this.”
Councillor John Divinski also alluded to photos of trees that had been cut leaving stumps “… that are dangerous. There are jagged edges and, if a child fell on that, it would be over. So, is there a plan to make these stumps a little more … friendly? There are jagged pieces that look like knives and it would be terrible if a child fell on it.”
Director of Community Services, Kristan Shrider, explained that the last cutting took place in January following the Christmas blizzard storm and that staff had made it “… as safe as possible. We will be going in to deal with the stumps (weather permitting) when the ground is suitable for that type of work. We will be doing a walk through shortly.”
Mayor Luke Charbonneau added that the park is one of the busiest parks and near a large number of residents who live in the area. “We want to design it well and I am pleased that we allotted significant funds in the budget to see it restored and, hopefully, we will get to the point this year where we will have a good plan that will be vetted by the public and approved by Council so we can get this park back up on its feet and in the condition that we all want to see.”
Recommendation: That Council receive the North Shore Park Reimagined Planning Milestones report for information. CARRIED
