Exciting plans for the revamp of Hamilton's waterfront will provide year-round amenities to revive the city, says Alderman David Dunkley.

The radical revamp of the City's shoreline has been sparked by the need to accommodate huge cruise ships 16 storeys high but he said the plan was to provide a year-round viable amenity centre.

Mr. Dunkley said: "The waterfront, if handled properly, will revitalise not only the City of Hamilton but also Bermuda.

"It will create more opportunities for businesses and Bermudians from all walks of life."

Yesterday Mr. Dunkley and Assistant City Engineer Patrick Cooper sat down with The Royal Gazette to discuss the plans in detail.

On the eastern edge of the development next to the Customs shed, a exhibition hall and conference centre is planned to attract everything from car shows to business conferences.

A flexible design will allow all sizes of convention to comfortably use the venue which will have a a restaurant at the back facing the water.

Next to that is a retail village for commercial outlets and professional services housed in several two or three storey buildings linked by walkways and fountains.

Moving westwards there is a tree-lined amphitheatre for about 200 people for concerts in the park style events.

Mr. Dunkley said: "Instead of having the jazz festival in Dockyard you could have it right here."

In the centre of the development is a formal garden with gazebos opposite Burnaby Street.

It leads to a passenger terminal which will house the visitor centre as well as buses, horse buggies and taxis.

Other tourist tours will likely set up there, says the Corporation. A passenger walkway to the the cruise jetty which runs parallel to Front Street is also covered.

Setting the ship back from the shore diminishes its towering size and helps comply with post 9/11 anti-terrorist regulations requiring a 50-metre exclusion zone.

Architects have gone for a parallel design rather than a diagonal design favoured by some entrants in Sir John Swan's On the Waterfront exhibition to allow more room for other Hamilton Harbour boat traffic.

It will mean boats going to the cargo docks won't be hampered and the harbour waters can flush unhampered.

Next to the centrepiece park, a theatre and coffee shop is planned along with a waterfront restaurant.

However Mr. Dunkley said the design was flexible and not a blueprint about to be passed to construction firm. Input is being sought from the community, said Mr. Dunkley, who added the theatre might be combined with the exhibition hall at the far end.

In the western corner a craft market is planned along with another restaurant while an island restaurant juts out on a jetty into the harbour.

Known as a straw market Mr. Cooper said the design would be along the lines of London's Covent Garden and Portobello Road.

The ferry terminal remains in the same place but will be configured differently with boats coming at a different angle.

Mr. Cooper said this did not require major building work as the pylons could be picked up and put in different locations while space could be made for more additional ferries which may be needed when the new huge cruise ships start servicing Dockyard.

A purpose-built ferry terminal will create more road space and better link up to buses and taxis.

Behind it the popular Albuoy's Point park will be enhanced and the docking area for boats be improved.

Mr. Dunkley said docking areas for boats would be put all along the new waterfront offering possibilities for water taxis and people to commute in their own boat.

He said: "Right now the possibilities are endless."

He said whether it was cruise ship season or not the development needed to support its itself all year round.

Mr. Dunkley appealed for people to chip in with ideas.

Earlier this week the Chamber of Commerce was given a presentation but Chamber president Charles Gosling declined to comment until a board meeting next month and further consultation with all its members.

Instead of a flat waterfront the Corporation has opted for an uneven design which Mr. Dunkley said was more interesting. A boardwalk will allow joggers and pedestrians to traverse the site.

More pavement space will be created on Front Street to allow pedestrians to stroll in a more leisurely manner.

Front Street will be widened to allow two lanes on either side of the median which will feature greenery similar to that in East Broadway.

A wider road will mean Front Street will not have to be completely closed to traffic during road races, say City planners, while a roundabout will be installed opposite Burnaby Street in a bid to cut down on traffic lights.

It's hoped the configuration will allow motorists using the underground car parks planned for the new development to head straight home rather than get snared up in one-way system and rat run through the rest of the city before heading east.

An underground car park where number one shed is now will take 110 cars and 335 bikes while an underground car park on the eastern end of the site will take 95 cars and 540 bikes on the first level and 225 cars on the second level.