Canoe, rowing clubs wary of planned motorboat launch site
Members of Saskatoon’s paddling and rowing communities are hoping to sink plans for a motorized boat launch in Victoria Park.
Citing concerns about river traffic and motorized watercraft creating dangerous conditions for rowers and paddlers, several groups take issue with the planned location for the boat launch, including the Saskatoon Rowing Club, the Saskatoon Canoe Club and the Saskatoon Racing Canoe Club.
Now, a petition is circulating to halt the plans, which would see the launch constructed “immediately to the north” of the 1989 Jeux Canada Games boathouse, where the three clubs are located.
Nicole Golden, an administrator with the Saskatoon Rowing Club, said the groups were not properly consulted about the location. As one of the largest groups of river users, they have the best understanding of how speeding boats and heavy wakes will affect user safety on the water, she said.
“When we bring in new, novice people who haven’t been in these boats, and we want to give them training … if we can’t guarantee their safety, we can’t put them on the water. So it will essentially stop us from introducing people to these sports,” Golden said.
“Is that something we want, as a city that lives on a beautiful river?”
She hopes the petition raises awareness about the concerns, and encourages more people to speak out against the plans, she said, adding club members feel the city has been “secretive” with a report outlining the plans, since the clubs have received little information about why the site was chosen. After a freedom of information request, the report was released in a heavily redacted form, she noted.
Andrew Roberts, special-use facilities and capital planning manager for the city’s Recreation and Community Development Division, said no location for the boat launch has been selected and the process is still underway.
“Safety is our primary concern,” he said. “Our ultimate goal is to provide safe access to the river for all users — whether they be recreational, commercial, emergency services, fire and police, both motorized and non-motorized.”
Roberts said the city is willing to work with the groups behind the petition, noting the report has not been made public because it still needs to be finalized and submitted for committee and council approval.
“We’re talking to the user groups and the public to find out the best way to make it safe for everybody.”
Roberts said preliminary research identified Victoria Park as the city’s preferred location due to infrastructure alone, but numerous sites — including an interim site operating at Kiwanis Park and a site at Rotary Park — are also under consideration.
Ward 2 Coun. Hilary Gough, who represents the area where Victoria Park is located, said she’s heard from residents about the concerns and assured them the study “is certainly not finished.”
“We haven’t seen any report at council and what I’m looking for in that report, and what I’m hearing from existing users, is they want to make sure that they can still safely do what they’ve been doing for many, many years. Certainly, we don’t want to disrupt that.”
The final report is expected to go before council in the fall.