Waterfront Strategy Development
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Waterfront Public Consultation Results.
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Find out about plans for shoreline restoration and waterfront pathway improvements
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Visit the Waterfront Regeneration 
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Web site for more information about the Waterfront Trail.
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The results from the public consultation process on the Waterfront Strategy, contained in "What We Learned From You" are being used to implement scheduled Shoreline Restoration and Waterfront Pathway Improvements.
These archived links offer background on the consultative process behind the Strategy developed in 2002:
- History of the consultative process used to develop the Waterfront Strategy
- A workbook used in developing the Waterfront Strategy
- Waterfront principle drafted at a 2001 Council brainstorming session
- An FAQ site referring to discussions on the Waterfront Strategy
- What interest groups said about the waterfront.
Kingston's waterfront, open spaces, parks, and recreation facilities are important resources and contribute significantly to the overall quality of life available to the City's citizens and visitors. Although each of these components are treated separately through Official Plan policies, it is important to recognize that they all work together to provide a variety of recreational opportunities, access to the water and shoreline, numerous views of the water, and a sense of openness and naturalness in the urban landscape.
Public waterfront lands are important for a number of reasons:
- community assets/resources of which quantity is limited
- contributes to the quality of life
- well suited for recreational uses and are usually well used
- provides economic benefits through tourism
- accessible to many people
The City of Kingston is fortunate to have many magnificent water views of Little Cataraqui Creek, the Great Cataraqui River, Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River. The protection of these views has long been considered important and policies regarding their protection are currently in the former City of Kingston's Official Plan. Access to the waterfront is another important principle of the former City's Official Plan.
The City's bodies of water are used for a variety of purposes. Most importantly, Lake Ontario is the source of the City's drinking water. The City's large water areas are also a source of wind and fresh air. The historic Rideau Canal, a pleasure craft waterway, begins in Ottawa and follows a series of lakes and locks to the Great Cataraqui River at Kingston. Kingston is also considered to have some of the best fresh water sailing conditions in the world. Fresh water fishing opportunities also exist in Lake Ontario, the St. Lawrence River and numerous lakes in the Kingston area.
The City has a number of large wetland areas that lend a feeling of openness, naturalness and wildlife to the intensely developed urban spaces. The Great Cataraqui Marsh and Little Cataraqui Creek are two wetland areas that are provincially significant and municipally protected from development. Together these two wetlands cover 286 hectares (707 acres). Other wetland areas and water courses in the City's northern and western sectors include: Odessa Lake, Collins Lake, Collins Creek, Little Cataraqui Creek, Cataraqui River and the Rideau Canal. There is a major park located along the St. Lawrence River - Grass Creek Park. Grass Creek Park provides 20 hectares (50 acres) of public property.
The
City of Kingston also has within its boundaries lands held by the Cataraqui Region
Conservation Authority and the starting point of the Rideau Trail, a walkway/hiking trail
which runs from Kingston to Ottawa. Within Kingston there are also two large conservation
areas; Lemoine Point Conservation Area and the Little Cataraqui Region Conservation Area.
Lemoine Point Conservation Area is 136 hectares (337 acres) in size.
Parks Canada operates three lock stations along the Rideau Canal; Kingston Mills, Lower Brewers and Upper Brewers. The St. Lawrence Parks Commission owns and operates the historic Fort Henry on the St. Lawrence River. There is considerable open space associated with Fort Henry, as well as, with Royal Military College. The Rideau Canal operates as a functional navigable waterway and is a unique resource as a National Heritage site.
The City owns and operates two marinas. One at Portsmouth Olympic Harbour, the site of the
sailing events of the 1976 Olympics, and one in the heart of the downtown area across from
City Hall. There are other private, provincial and federal government marine facilities.
This area is important to the City's tourism economy and also has the potential to become
a thriving harbour serving residents, tourists, commercial operators and governments alike.
The influence of the waterfront is found throughout many of the City policy documents, in particular in the Official Plans in reference to policies relating to the waterfront, waterfront pathways, open space, recreation and parklands, harbours, heritage, tourism and economic development.
Source: City of Kingston, City Facts, November 2000
