If the Mountain News named a Newsmaker of the Year, there’s no doubt the 2017 honour would go to Albion Falls.

Following an accidental death in June, the popular east-Mountain natural site was in the news nearly every week as the city struggled with balancing access and safety.

In July, work began on more than 200 metres of fencing around the top of the gorge and about 30 signs warning people to stay out of the area and stay on marked trails.

Bylaw officers were stationed in the area and by mid-October, 162 people were ticketed for trespassing and 542 vehicles were tagged for parking violations.

The June tragedy was the second accidental death at Albion in less than a year. Combined with numerous rescue calls to the gorge, the city decided to ban the public from getting too close to — or in some cases climbing — the falls due to safety concerns.

There were, and continue to be, many complaints about the gorge being fenced off, but don’t expect to see the chain link obstacle come down any time soon.

The fences aren’t coming down, but there is also no plan right now to expand them, says Kara Bunn, the city’s parks manager.

Something likely to happen this year are three preliminary studies that should pave the way for a safe way to get to the bottom of the falls.

The Hamilton Future Fund is poised to approve a $45,500 grant for an environmental impact study, geotechnical investigation and archeological assessment.

Final approval could be given in the spring, so the studies could begin by summer, says Cynthia Graham, manager of landscape architectural services.

The environmental assessment would take the longest of the three, but should wrap up by the end of 2018, she said.

Barring any problems — such as finding a rare species or an ancient settlement — construction on a staircase and viewing platform near the base of the falls could begin in 2019.

That’s assuming council gives its OK and funding is found for the project, which Graham has estimated at about $1.2 million.

Graham does have funding in hand to design the access, so it will run concurrent to the necessary studies.

“As we’re getting the information back from these studies we can keep moving forward with the detailed design,” she says.

Graham says she doesn’t have a preconceived notion of what it will look like, but knows what she wants to achieve.

“The goal is to design and install something that allows people to have the experience they want without climbing into the falls,” she says.

“We’re trying to make it a safe access so you can go down there, you can feel the spray, you can take your pictures but you don’t end up stuck down there or slipping and falling or any of the impacts that we’ve seen over the last few years.”

The Niagara Escarpment Commission and Hamilton Conservation Authority also have input on the project and may limit how close a viewing platform can be built to the cascade.

Graham says she also wants to minimize the impact on the natural environment, which has taken a beating from people making their own paths down through the gorge.

“We’re not going to be able to stop everybody,” she says. “If someone is determined to get into the falls, I don’t know that we’re going to necessarily stop that, but I feel like if we provide the experience that people are looking for, then that’s the goal.”