Two deaths in less than a year at Albion Falls and numerous rescues of injured people from the gorge.

Yet, at any given time, you will see people sitting perilously on outcrops or walking through the water near the edge of the falls.

“I would like to think most people would be careful and safe and cautious, but we’ve got to obviously save people from themselves and that’s why we’re looking at additional measures,” said Ward 6 Coun. Tom Jackson after last Saturday’s death at the east Mountain cataract.

A 21-year-old man fell to his death from the north side of the Albion Falls gorge and two others had to be rescued by firefighters around 4 p.m. Saturday. There was another rope rescue call Sunday night in the same area. A week earlier, a 60-year-old woman had to be brought out of the gorge by firefighters after she fell and suffered non-life threatening injuries.

in 2016, there were a number of other incidents at Albion Falls, including one last July in which a man in his 50s slipped and fell to his death while on an outing with his family.

Jackson said he met with emergency, traffic, bylaw and parks personnel on June 2, the day before the woman was rescued, to discuss solutions to the increase in rescues required in the area. Among other things, the group is mapping out the locations of the rescues at Albion and nearby Buttermilk falls.

“If there is a whole pile of X’s in one spot, OK, we’ll have to take extraordinary measures at that one location,” he said. “We want to see if there’s a pattern.”

One of those measures could be “shock signs” that tell visitors the number of rescues and deaths at a site.

“Something more impactful that maybe will cause people to pause and take extra caution,” said Jackson.

The committee also talked about installing more chain-link fence to cordon areas off and keep people back from the steep drops.

When asked about the idea of fining someone who goes beyond a “keep out” or “no trespassing” sign, Jackson said he would bring it up at the next meeting of his ad hoc committee.

But he rejected the idea of having law enforcement patrol the area on weekends to stop or remove the daredevils who sit on outcrops or walk across the top of the falls, saying he didn’t expect they would find it to be a priority.

“I bet you I know what the answer is going to be,” the councillor said. “So now it’s a matter of, with limited resources, with you as a taxpayer, do I put out a cop or two there regularly this coming weekend at Albion Falls … or a bylaw officer handing out tickets or are there other priority areas or things in the city that they will be called to that they have to attend to?”

Jackson said his ultimate goal, which he admits will be costly, is a permanent pathway with ledges, similar to what can be found next to Niagara Falls.

“Where I can take people out as far as we safely can … and beyond that point they can’t hop over it or whatever, even if they wanted to,” he said. “But that’s going to take time and money, for sure.”

The number of people enjoying the Albion area has increased sharply the past two years. On sunny summer days and evenings, dozens of people can be in or around the gorge at any one time.

Jackson said he is looking at the illegal roadside parking that occurs on weekends after the three parking lots around Albion fill up and he has asked staff to consider a pedestrian crossing, possible with flashing or red lights, near the Arbour road parking lot to accommodate the extra foot traffic.

“I call it a beautiful problem that we now have,” he said. “It’s beautiful that suddenly even Hamiltonians, in their own backyards, have discovered the majesty of our city and all these gorgeous panoramic areas to explore … but it has created a whole new set of problems.”