City to get tough after yet another Albion Falls rescue
The city will fence off a stairway and trail leading to the base of Albion Falls and look at charging trespassers to prevent the kind of falling injuries that sparked yet another rescue Sunday.
Firefighters were called to the east Mountain waterfall around 2:15 p.m. after reports of a boy falling about three metres.
The victim, who police said was around 10 years old, was carried out of the gorge on a stretcher and hospitalized with minor facial injuries.
But Sunday’s rescue wasn’t alone — on Saturday firefighters had to break out rope-rescue gear to haul an injured hiker up a 22-metre-high gorge at Webster’s Falls.
There have been five rescue calls to Albion Falls in June, including one for a fatal plunge into the gorge by a Toronto photographer June 10.
Ward Coun. Tom Jackson said Sunday night the city will take “more urgent measures” in an effort to try to prevent the ongoing waterfall injuries.
That will include adding “bigger, bolder” warning messages near unsanctioned trails, permanent fencing across old steps leading down from Mountain Brow Boulevard and “no trespassing” signs allowing bylaw and police officers to charge waterfall visitors who ignore the physical and written barriers.
The changes would effectively make it illegal to visit the popular base of the falls — at least from city-owned lands off Mountain Brow Boulevard. (The councillor couldn’t say Sunday if hikers following the downstream Red Hill Creek toward the falls would also be trespassing, for example.)
“I am reluctantly convinced we have to go this route in order to try to change the behaviour of the few, the minority who continue to be involved in these unfortunate occurrences,” said Jackson.
“I really do feel badly for the vast majority of visitors who have routinely and safely visited (the area below) the
falls for years, in some cases decades, without incident.”
Jackson toured the area Friday with police, fire and EMS officials to brainstorm possible safety measures around Albion Falls.
Shortly thereafter, parks staff erected temporary construction fencing at the top and bottom of a decades-old set of concrete steps off Mountain Brow Boulevard that lead toward unofficial paths to the base of the falls.
The city owns the stairs but has long warned visitors against using them with multiple signs.
A day after the temporary barrier was erected — complete with new “danger keep out” signs — visitors had ripped the fence aside and continued to use the steps, including during a thunderstorm Sunday afternoon.
“That’s the kind of things we’re dealing with. I’m really upset over that,” Jackson said.
The latest fall and rescue came about an hour after a thunderstorm transformed the trickling waterfall into a roaring cataract and turned nearby unsanctioned trails into mudslides.
The councillor said the city will erect permanent chain-link fencing across the concrete steps and in nearby areas as soon as possible.
He expects “no trespassing” signs to be added eventually, but noted the city is still consulting with its lawyers on what kind of wording — and enforcement — is feasible.
The councillor acknowledged many “safe, responsible explorers and hikers” will be disappointed by the city formally banning access to the bottom of the falls from Mountain Brow Boulevard.
But he expressed hope a longterm solution could one day include a city-sanctioned trail and “safe, contained” viewing area.
There is no formal plan or budget for that “blue-sky” idea, likely some years off, Jackson said. “But we’ve talked about it,” he said. “It remains on the table.”