Floating dock proposed for Gyro Park waterfront

A proposed pier for the Gyro Park waterfront in Osoyoos will now be a “dock” — and a big one at that.

Coun. CJ Rhodes delivered that news at this week’s meeting, explaining that the lake’s geography made placing a pier — defined as a platform being built on pillars or pylons sunk into the lake bottom — a prohibitive choice.

“The underground part of the lake is quite shallow (close to shore) and then there’s an enormous drop-off,” he explained after the meeting. “The length of our proposed pier went past that drop-off and there was no way of cantilevering out (the remaining distance.)

“(The consultants) were talking well over $1 million just for the pylons. That far exceeded our budget.”

The waterfront steering committee managing the project is now proposing a permanent “foam-formed” floating platform, Rhodes said.

He explained the platform’s walkway would be about 7.3 metres wide and “well over” 30 metres long before being capped by an extension 16 metres wide.

“This floating dock will be a very, very nice addition,” he told council. “One of the major things that we talked about was the fact that the end of it will have a gazebo-type of a structure.

The structure, he explained, would be large enough to hold small musical events — with room for up to 200 people.

“It’ll be a year-round structure, realizing full well that you’re not going to go out and have a wedding or small musical band out there in December or January,” Rhodes said. “But at least it will be out there and available.”

Moving to a floating platform has brought down the project costs considerably, with the entire dock structure costing about $130,000, he added.

The dock and foreshore walkway was a project priority recommended in the 2012 Osoyoos Waterfront Gyro Park Plan. It is expected to extend off the eastern end of the recently completed plaza.

The initial vision was for a steel-pile supported pier that would extend about 60 metres into the lake to provide “a real water experience for users and a strategic viewpoint eastwards from Park Place.”

Elements pondered for the pier included a wheelchair ramp, jumping tower and boat moorage.

The steering committee is expected to bring a final design and report to council in early June.