Statement by Mayor Fred Eisenberger on the reopening of the Hamilton Waterfront Trail

HAMILTON, ON – As mayor of the City of Hamilton and in close consultation with the Medical Officer of Health and the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), I am pleased to announce beginning Saturday May 9, 2020, parking lots adjacent to parks will be reopened and the Hamilton Waterfront Trail (between Confederation Park and the Burlington Lift Bridge) will also reopen. 

All escarpment stairs remain closed. Albion Falls is closed to visitors and the parking lots at Albion Falls will also remain closed.   

I encourage individuals and families to enjoy City parks and green spaces while also complying with public health guidance and Provincial Emergency Orders. Playground equipment, picnic benches, sports fields/courts and any other amenities remain closed at this time. 

Examples of activities that are permitted in Hamilton’s parks in groups of up to five people or members from the same household include:

• Playing catch, kicking a ball,
• Letting young kids run around
• Walking or running on a track within a park
• Having a picnic or playing on the grass, your own lawn chair or a blanket
• Personal yoga practice (not a group class)
• Kite flying
• Personal fitness (push ups, sprinting, lunges, etc.)

Hamilton Public Health Services continues to recommend limiting activities to members of your own household to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and maintaining a physical distance of two metres from those outside of your household. Other public health recommendations:

• Wash your hands often with soap and water or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
• Avoid touching your eyes, mouth and nose.
• Avoid contact with people who are ill and their items.
• Cover your coughs and sneezes with a tissue. If you don't have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your upper sleeve or elbow, not your hands. Wash hands after coughing and sneezing.

Exercising and maintaining an active lifestyle is an important part of keeping both physically and mentally healthy during this pandemic. I am thrilled residents will now be able to enjoy our waterfront trail while continuing to practice physical distancing.

I appreciate the community’s efforts to flatten the curve of COVID-19 and their patience as we continue to look at safely reopening additional amenities.

Additional Resources

• For regular City of Hamilton COVID-19 updates, please visit www.hamilton.ca/coronavirus and www.hamilton.ca/covidclosures
• Visit https://covid-19.ontario.ca to learn more about how the province continues to protect Ontarians from COVID-19
• Public Health Services’ COVID-19 Hotline: 905-974-9848 or [email protected]