Thunder Bay will re-examine its restrictions on when residents can access some city parks, including Prince Arthur's Landing.

That comes as welcome news to city resident Brent Kelso, who said security staff told him twice this summer he had to leave the waterfront park. Both times he was simply taking late-evening walks at around 11 p.m., he said. Being told to leave doesn't leave a good impression on people trying to enjoy the newly developed waterfront, and Kelso said that’s a concern.

“Evening time — and night time — is a time for people to wander about in a neat place,” he said. “The whole entire park has been brought back to life with lighting.”

Kelso added he was also told by security that boaters have the right to access the park 24 hours a day.

"If you don't actually make a significant contribution either [by] paying for a boat berth or — and this could happen in the future — if you don't live in the condo, then that backyard is not open to the public,” he said.

Thunder Bay parks manager Paul Fayrick said there is nothing in the city's regulations that gives boaters special time of use privileges. In situations where people are told that, he said he guessed it was at the individual discretion of the security guard.

'Unique solutions' needed

Thunder Bay's bylaws state that all city parks close at 11 p.m., but the city is looking to change the rules for some areas, including Prince Arthur's Landing.

To start, Fayrick said administration will recommend that council amend the bylaw to accommodate late-night customers of the new restaurant.

“We're going to council and recommending that the bylaw be amended specifically in this case for the restaurant, with additional information to come later on this spring,” he said.

More information on other possible park bylaw changes will be presented to council after it deals with next month's report.

“It just illustrates how interesting Prince Arthur's Landing will be to the city,” Fayrick said.

“It's going to be a unique area, and we're going to have to come up with some unique solutions to these types of issues.”

On the topic of future public versus private access to the park, Fayrick noted "it's a little bit premature to figure out exactly how the form of the bylaw would look specifically for the future Marina Park. For right now, we want to make sure that people leaving the restaurant or going to the restaurant are accommodated in the interim."

It's "quite possible" that the Marina will become exempt from the 11 p.m. bylaw entirely in the future, he said.

Council will study the matter further at a Jan. 14 meeting.