The mayor of Sidney is assuring residents that all viewpoints will be considered in any plan to remove or replace the town’s “iconic” wharf.
“We are listening … as we determine next steps in the Beacon Wharf process,” Cliff McNeil-Smith said during Monday’s council meeting.
“Council appreciates that the current wharf is iconic. It has been part of our waterfront and town character for many decades.”
McNeil-Smith said it will likely be several years before any action is taken on the wharf, which has remained unchanged since the last major renovation about 60 years ago.
Since the town took over the wharf from the federal government in 2006, Sidney has completed two major repairs totalling $400,000.
McNeil-Smith said council felt that starting the planning process early, as the wharf approaches the end of its life in coming years, was prudent. “This allows us to take the necessary time to plan for the wharf’s future with input from the community.”
After consulting with engineers, Sidney has considered two options — a floating wharf that could handle structures and offer access to the water for businesses and services, or allowing the existing wharf to remain as-is until the end of its safe life and not replacing it.
A replacement for the current wharf would have to be built for a 50-year lifespan and take into account climate change, rising sea levels and storm surges. That option, as well as a stepped berm design, has been ruled out because it would have to be built more than two metres higher than the existing wharf, detracting from existing views, and the connection with existing road infrastructure would be difficult.
McNeil-Smith said last week that cost estimates for a replacement range from $10 million to $17 million.
Demolition and not replacing the structure are also options.
The town has held open houses with scale models to provide information and generate feedback on wharf options, as well as a section for residents to submit their own ideas, which the mayor said could result in further options.
McNeil-Smith said the town has received more than 1,000 survey responses, as well as letters from the public. He said all of the survey responses and letters will be available to council and the public when they are published in the agenda package for a council meeting in November.
— With files from Andrew A. Duffy
