The new Rothesay Float Walk is officially open for public use. Located at the East Riverside Kingshurt Park along the Kennebecasis River in New Brunswick, the floating dock is giving people from near and far a new way to enjoy the scenery on the bustling stretch of water. “We’ve had these dock sections for several years,” says Rothesay Mayor Matt Alexander. “During the unprecedented floods of 2018 and 2019 we purchased them for residents that are in areas of the town that would flood when the water level came up.” “Since then, they’ve just been in storage. We haven’t had any use for them because thankfully, we haven’t had the rivers rise that high again. So, staff came up with the idea that maybe we should repurpose these and develop this unique walkway.” Mayor Alexander says the idea has been thrown around by council for several years. He says even before Thursday’s official opening, a number of residents had already raved about the new addition on the riverfront. That includes Patty Fullerton, who lives not far from the new walkway. “It’s squishy, and it’s also the Cadillac of docks,” says Fullerton. “That was quite nice today,” says Bill Donahue after his first stroll on the new walkway. “I don’t know if I’d want to have been out here the other day when it was windy. You could see the waves really rocking it, but it’s really nice.” Alexander says the town is thinking about installing a gate on the bridge to close it during extreme weather events, but notes the dock is designed to move up and down with the waves and people should use the float walk at their own risk. As far as other similar stretching docks around the region, Alexander can’t think of any that rises and falls with the tides along the province’s river system. As far as people looking to jump or swim off the docks, Alexander says it won’t be allowed due to the shallow water in the area. He also says boats will not be permitted to tie on to the floating dock. “People could probably fish off of it,” Alexander notes. “But you got to make sure that you have the proper licensing. that you’re not going to hook somebody and that you’re still allowing people to move freely on the walkway, because that’s essentially what it is. It is a facility for people to walk on.” When asked about the possibility of future expansion of the dock, Alexander says it is something council is interested in it fits in the budget as the town has no more similar docks in storage. In a perfect world, he says he would like to see the walkway extend all the way to the Renforth Wharf around a kilometre down river. For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
