Plan seeks to fix Harris Park's 'decrepit' and erosion-battered shoreline

City engineers in London are pressing for city council's approval of a plan to fight erosion at Harris Park, a heavily-used riverfront park frequented by outdoor enthusiasts and concert goers located on the eastern rim of the city's downtown core. 

The report, to be reviewed by the civic works committee Tuesday, recommends city council spend $562,665 to repair damage to the park's battered and failing 50-year-old erosion control infrastructure along 700 metres of what the report calls Harris Park's "decrepit" eastern shoreline. 

"It's sad to look at," said Londoner Chris Van Geleuken of the eastern bank of the Thames River in Harris Park on Friday. "There's a lot of garbage and trash and homeless people in the area. 

The dog walker was using the park's pathway that runs parallel to the river where the shore has become overgrown with small trees, wild grape vines and throwaway junk that collects at the water's edge. Anything the city can do to rehabilitate the Thames River would be money well spent, he said.

"The river is the centre of the city, in my opinion anyway, and so much how we live revolves around it. It's just unfortunate, you know?" 

The half-million dollar repair job is part of the city's $31 million erosion control project and the wider "One River" master plan, which seeks to rehabilitate a waterway many describe as a jewel of the city, yet operates as a de facto dumping ground for old fishing lines and tackle, household garbage, discarded needles and the detritus of homeless encampments along its banks. 

Right now, according to the report's author, city engineer Shawna Chambers, the more pressing concern is repairing the damage to the gabion baskets, the wire containers filled with stone that line Harris Park's eastern edge.

If they aren't replaced, Harris Park could suffer catastrophic damage during a future flooding event, said Chambers. 

"If we don't restore the gabion baskets with another solution, there's a risk of basically bank failure, so you could lose a component of the bank during a high rain event."

If the bank fails, the rushing water could create a scour hole on the edge of Harris Park, which would be more difficult and expensive to fix once it has been created. 

"You may lose land area of the park," she said. "You may risk some of the pathway being lost in the river, too. That's why it's an important project to stabilize the slope." 

To do that, the report recommends hiring Matrix Solutions, an Alberta-based environmental engineering firm that will use the latest erosion-control technology in order to create a more natural-looking shoreline in Harris Park. 

Chris Moon, an engineer and the senior project manager with Matrix Solutions, was not available for comment Friday. 

The long-term goal of the Harris Park shoreline rehabilitation project, according to the report, would "include opportunities to enhance river level access for lookouts, fishing, canoe, and kayak activities, as well as opportunities for restoration of riparian and aquatic habitat."