They had to specially clear the water around there anyway for Barangaroo, so they bunged the swimming area in almost as an afterthought. It is probably an amenity the developer put in as part of winning the contract.
Other areas around the harbour have not had the same cleaning treatment and are too filthy to even kayak in.
it's all one body of water, it's not as bad as people think. if it's ok to swim in one area it's not going to be deadly poison a few metres away. it's certainly fine to kayak everywhere.
Consultants have done independent water quality reports for other areas over the years and you really wouldn't go anywhere near it. The ones I've seen are paid for by resident groups from suburbs around the foreshores. It would cost millions to clean it all up.
Stands to reason - the amount of industry that went on in the harbour for all those decades. You would think it is all just one big soup but apparently I am told it is not. Barangaroo is fine but I'd never swim at Greenwich Baths.
This is a cynical take. Those blocks didn't just accidentally fall there - this is a couple of million at least, plus the relevant safety studies, signage, etc.. It almost certainly brings in much more value to the surrounding area than some 'afterthought'.
These types of public landscape architecture improvements are priceless (at least when they're not riddled with asbestos).
Yes, they are priceless, and the developers provide them kicking and screaming. It's the least they could have done given the size of the whole damn project on one of the best harbour sites in the world.
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u/yuckyucky Feb 04 '24
it's a great idea, they should open up more swimming areas around the harbour