For the last 10 years, Hamilton helped promote Albion Falls without ever considering what would happen if tourists actually came. I am embarrassed, yet again, by the lack of vision of our city councillors.

Last weekend, I met people from Belgium, Toronto, London and elsewhere who were greeted by ugly black fences and bylaw officers ticketing them for trying to get a view of the falls from the top or the bottom.

Most Hamiltonians know how the landscape and the amount of water going over the falls has changed over time and how dangerous a place it can become in a very short time; out-of-towners do not.

Instead of taking joy in the ticketing of tourists as a workable plan for Albion Falls, build a proper set of stairs with a couple of viewing levels and if you have to charge a couple of dollars to walk down to the base of falls, then do it.

Let's use the money from the councillors' paid lunches and the $5,000 that was to go toward buying retiring or ousted city councillors rings to get the process started!

Maybe next summer we can be proud of Hamilton as the "City of Waterfalls" again.

Sharon Smith

Hamilton Mountain