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Bayfront Park may be turned into an island as part of Commonwealth Games proposal

As part of their proposal for the city to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games, local community group Hamilton100 would like the city to turn Bayfront Park into an island. The hope is that reshaping the park would improve water circulation, flushing out algae and making the harbour safe for swimmers.

The proposal to host the games is still pending council approval, but also includes a number of other ideas that will benefit Hamilton residents for many years after the short athletic competition. These ideas include plans to build and/or renovate ‘legacy’ facilities such as upgrading McMaster University’s pool complex, building a new downtown convention centre, and building a new multi-sport arena.

Perhaps the most ambitious of these plans is their vow to make Bayfront Harbour swimmable for triathletes and the public by 2030, and to keep it swimmable for future generations. This presents a serious challenge, as the harbour has long struggled with sewage overflows and toxic blue-green algae. The problem is so severe that public health experts have even gone as far as to recommend closing the beach indefinitely, as high bacterial counts have led to frequent beach closures in recent years.

The bid’s proposed solution is daring and innovative, if unproven. The logic behind carving Bayfront Park into an island is that improving water circulation will reduce or eliminate the harbour’s “dead zones” where the water is stagnant.

Because bacteria from bird feces and other waste tends to linger and incubate in still water, increasing the movement of water in the area should limit opportunities for bacterial growth and thus improve the water’s safety for public use, the proposal argues.

While Hamilton100 expects the resulting water movement to “fully address” the blue-green algae and other issues the harbour faces, the feasibility of their plan is still to be determined. It’s true that previous studies have shown that improved water circulation may help disperse bacteria at Bayfront, but the cost of reshaping the land to make it happen would climb into the tens of millions.

In addition, the growing problem of algae is a worldwide phenomenon that is linked to climate change. It’s not a simple fix, as many factors including climate change, development, politics, and sewage overflows can all play a role.

“Making the harbour safe for swimmers is an important goal and it remains one of our biggest challenges,” said Bay Area Restoration Council (BARC) executive director Chris Martin. “But the algae issue is more of a systems problem.”

No matter what the city decides in terms of the island reshaping, councilors will have to endorse some verion of a host proposal by November 22nd if Hamilton wants to stay in the race to host the Commonwealth Games in 2030.

The 2030 games are particularly significant, as they will be the centennial iteration of the competition. Hamilton is actually the site of the inaugural Commonwealth Games in 1930, when it was known as the British Empire Games. Hosting in 2030 would be a nice symbolic gesture of coming full-circle.

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