Groups propose new access points on canal for paddlers

With the forecast set to heat up, a new proposal from two community groups wants to make it easier for Centretown residents to get out on the water this summer.

The Glebe Community Association and the Ottawa East Community Association sent an open letter Wednesday to Ottawa Centre MP Catherine McKenna and Minister of Canadian Heritage Mélanie Joly. The letter proposes two temporary floating docks be added as a pilot project to the Rideau Canal in the Glebe.

One would be added at Fifth Avenue and the other would be added at Patterson Creek.

There are currently two access points on the canal for canoes and kayaks. One is downtown near the National Arts Centre, and the other eight kilometres south at Dow’s Lake in Little Italy.

Right now, Centretown residents must either take their boats by car to one of these docks or try to lift it over the guard railing that runs the length of the canal in both locations.

Bill Price brought the idea for the floating docks to the Glebe Community Association last fall. He lives in the area and regularly lifts his rowboat into the canal near his home. He said bypassing the railing is easy compared with trying to get into the boat from the edge of canal, which is not level with the water.

“It’s awkward as the devil to actually load the boat,” he says. “The float is absolutely imperative for safety and it doesn’t have to be elaborate. It only has to be enough to hold one or two people.”

Glebe Association president Christine McAllister said the docks would be a simple way to allow more people to enjoy the canal. “It’s a really great way to expand the use of the Rideau Canal, which is such a fantastic community asset,” she said.

“I am an avid canoeist myself, and I would be keen to see increased access to the Rideau Canal for canoers and kayakers in central Ottawa,” McKenna said via email.

“Parks Canada will announce plans for the 2016 season shortly.”

Rideau Canoe Club president Hector Carranco said he was excited about the prospect of more canoes on the water in Ottawa.

“Canoeing is skill everybody should learn, just like swimming and cycling. Canada was built on canoes. Canoeing should be seen as a Canadian sport, just like hockey and lacrosse,” he said.

McAllister said she’s hopeful the pilot project will launch this summer.

“If it goes really well and is well used, we’d love to see the temporary docks turn into a permanent facility,” she said.