Hamilton to get tough after yet another Albion Falls rescue
The City of Hamilton 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 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.
Also, on Saturday firefighters had to break out rope-rescue gear to haul an injured hiker up a 22-metre-high gorge at Webster 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.
City 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.
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 of Hamilton 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.
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.