A photo of the Kincardine Lighthouse (photo via the Municipality of Kincardine)
Kincardine council approved a change to the design for new staircase to replace the one near the town’s lighthouse.
The initial plans used steel stairs, rather than wooden ones.
Although steel stairs would be more durable, they would come at a higher price – $210,000 for a new steel staircase, compared to an estimated $50,000 for a pressure-treated, wooden one.
“Obviously, the wooden staircase has a shorter lifespan than the steel one would,” said Manager of Parks and Facilities Mike Di Giovanni. “We are still looking the the 15-year range with regular maintenance on it. That’s something that we certainly would do going forward, once the new structure is in place.”
He said that in the meantime, staff would be carrying out the necessary repairs on the old staircase for this season to ensure that it remains safe to use.
“With the current staircase being wood, we have some confidence in our staff’s ability to make small repairs to issues when they come up, as well as the regular maintenance schedule.”
Prior to construction, the engineering plans will need to be revised for a wooden design that meets Municipal standards. If requested by Council, the cost for materials and engineering totalling $50,000 would be included for consideration in the Mayor’s proposed 2027 Capital Budget.
“As far as the current structure, our plan is regular inspections and maintenance to get us through the year, so we can get to that replacement time.” he explained, adding that replacement would be “Probably early next year, hopefully before the summer.”
The replacement project was originally outlined in the 2026 Mayor’s Budget, where it was proposed to replace the existing Lighthouse staircase with a steel staircase for a budget of $210,000.
Council opted for the removal of this project, pending a report from staff on the possibility of replacing the Lighthouse Staircase with a spiral staircase from the Huron Terrace Bridge, or a pressure-treated timber staircase.
Since a spiral staircase would not align with the municipality’s Facilities and Design Standards (FADS) for accessibility, it would not have met the building code for the site.