Youth Step Up to Protect Thunderbird

THUNDER BAY – NEWS – Spring Cleaning got an early start today as youth from the Vale Community Council stepped up to clean up the Thunderbird at the Kam River Park in downtown Fort William.

Over the winter a great deal of broken glass at the entrance to the park has gathered up.

Thunder Bay Parks do not, as a practice maintain walking trails at many parks. Over the winter broken glass needles, and other litter along with solid evidence of a fair amount of vandalism has been accumulating at Kam River Park.

Thunder Bay City Manager Norm Gale offers, “Regarding maintenance at this park I offer the following comments our parks dept:

“Parks has a different standard for level of service than Roads sidewalks do. Parks trails that are plowed are not sanded. And some trails we make a decision not to plow, for example, the Darrell Matson trail along Golf Links is not plowed. In general we try to stay away from sanding, even when icy conditions are found as it sets an expectation that we cannot maintain.

“Having said that, we are initiating a survey for residents to comment on what changes they would like for input into the Roads Quality Standards report and have included questions on the service levels for multi-use trails and bike lanes. So we will have some data soon on what residents would like to see.

“I am mindful of the importance of quality open and green spaces. As you can see above, we are seeking public input into the standards for this”.

Mayor Hobbs states, “This park is never maintained properly. Tim Commisso, Darrell Matson and I have all walked it and I ‎have been on Administration’s case about maintaining it.”

Thunder Bay has a goal of building up the city’s waterfront. The Kam River Park has the historic James Whalen Tugboat and the VIA Rail train, as well as a scenic boardwalk. With proper maintenance, the park would like attract a lot more people to enjoy the vista and views.

The broken glass and litter on the Thunderbird at Kam River Park wasn’t acceptable to Noah, Skylar and Lakota, who decided that the artwork at the park needed to be cleaned up. Taking a great deal of care, using brooms and a shovel, the young men swept and cleaned up the park.

The Vale Community Council, which works along with the Regional Multicultural Youth Council (RMYC) has set goals for taking Anishinabek Culture into the downtown this summer with drumming and teaching.

The walkway into Kam River Park on Family Day, the snow coverage from a winter of not clearing snow makes the park inaccessible to anyone with a mobility issue, as well as young families.

Mayor Hobbs, in his State of the City Address has asked residents to be more mindful of litter and trash around Thunder Bay. Getting boots to the ground from concerned residents is a start on realizing that goal.