The City of Hamilton is looking to increase public access to on-water tourism activities along the West Harbour, with boat cruises and a winter floating hot tub boat both suggested as potential opportunities.
The city says that the West Harbour was “intentionally designed” to support boating and recreation activations, particularly at Pier 8 where the harbour has a 50-foot depth.
Pier 8 is also the future site of a massive 1,600-unit housing development by Waterfront Shores Corporation.
The city says that the pier’s infrastructure “is unique within the Greater Golden Horseshoe and provides opportunity to accommodate a variety of vessels and on-water attractions.”
One of the actions in the city’s four-year Tourism Strategy, which covers 2024 to 2028, is to facilitate additional recreational and leisure water-based activities and on-water operators at the waterfront by 2026.
The city says that they have had multiple enquiries from business owners about opportunities, so they issued a Request for Information to identify ideas for the waterfront.
The Request for Information was sent to all 11 contacts who previously reached out to the city and was reportedly promoted nationally through tourism industry networks.
The city also promoted the Request for Information with several industry partners, including the Hamilton Oshawa Port Authority (HOPA), Six Nations Tourism, Hamilton Conservation Authority, Bay Area Restoration Council (BARC), and Royal Hamilton Yacht Club.
Staff are currently evaluating the proposals.
However, they also gave a sneak peek into some of the concepts that were submitted.
The first concept, which would be based on Pier 6, 7, and 8, is for boat tours.
Listed examples of tours include brunch and/or dinner cruises, harbour tours, private events, hop-on/off water taxi, floating tiki-themed boat tour and bar, a winter floating hot tub boat, and a floating sauna.
The second concept is for multiple recreational and commercial options and would be based at Bayfront Park and Pier 6.
Examples of recreational and commercial on-water activities include various rentals such as pedal boats, kayaks, canoes, and stand-up paddle boards.
However, previous issues with water quality and algae blooms in the area might prevent those plans.
Another idea is for a floating pop-up village consisting of multiple floating structures designed to serve as artist studios, cafes, bars, and storefronts.
The third concept proposal is for a lake cruise service departing from Pier 8, where passengers could board a cruise ship for a multi-day vacation on Lake Ontario on a “floating resort”, featuring live entertainment, a spa, pool, shopping, food and beverages, and events.
The report notes that the city would also be able to work with multiple operators concurrently and test different options to see what works best.
Next, staff say that they will be clearly articulating the range and nature of activities along the waterfront and then ask proponents to provide specific plans.
Suitable plans will be chosen based on a list of Principles developed by staff, and licence agreements granting access and usage rights will then be negotiated.
Overall, the city says that the objective “is to seek a broad range of opportunities for participation activities along the waters-edge for as broad a range of participants as possible beginning in the 2026 spring/summer season.”
Based in Hamilton, he reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. He has been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. In 2017, he received the Chancellor Full Tuition Scholarship from the University of Ottawa (BA, 2022). He has also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal. He formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
