I promised myself to stay out of this, but will throw in my 2 cents worth. The Navigation Protection Act as I understand it provides for public access to navigable waterways, of which the Bow is included. The river and streambed is also crown land, and I am not sure of the legal implications of the city and or province imposing regulations on crown land, not to mention limiting or impeding access to a navigable waterway.I am not a lawyer, so I cannot speak to whether or not it is appropriate for the city to be limiting access to the bank to launch boats.
As a boat owner, I am concerned about the lack of access to launch facilities in the city and along the Bow in general. I am also concerned about the yahoos who view the riverbank as a good place to park. I I will also admit that my first time out this year I did launch upstream of the bridge before the sign was installed, and my second time at graves I did not see the sign, but knowing it was there launched south of the bridge. Having launched there this past weekend I will openly state that the signage is useless, one small sign on the ramp down into the launch, and the barricades are awfully close together, I wouldn't want to be making a tight turn either in or out.
I think the better solution would be to continue with trying to educate people about the fact that it is provided as a boat launch for the launching of boats, not a convenient parking spot close to the water. It is unfortunate that responsible users of the area are painted with the same brush as irresponsible users. I also feel it is a great injustice for the responsible users to be punished for this when the city fails to provide adequate alternatives.
There is a lot that needs to be done to improve access to the river, and the knee jerk reaction to shut down access will lead to bigger issues.
Sorry for the rant.