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Hoping to create a large waterfront pedestrian plaza, Duluth Mayor Don Ness unveiled plans on Thursday to build a walkway linking Bayfront Park, the Great Lakes Aquarium and a proposed hotel complex on the western side of the harbor, connected to the popular Canal Park tourist area.

"We want people to park their car once and spend their entire day or entire weekend wandering around all the amenities in the Canal park or waterfront area," Ness said.

To create needed parking, Ness would fill in a boat slip where the "William A. Irvin" ore ship and tourist attraction sits. That slip contains contaminated sediment that the state has estimated would cost five to seven million dollars to clean up. The Irvin would be moved down the harbor.

Closing the slip would displace several charter fishing boats. Ness said they could relocate to a new marina planned closer to the Aerial Lift Bridge.

The pedestrian plaza "will be a tremendous draw creating a new marina out in the harbor and then also addressing some of the parking needs in this area," he added.

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Hoping to create a large waterfront pedestrian plaza, Duluth Mayor Don Ness on Thursday unveiled plans on to build a walkway.

Duluth mayor proposing big changes for waterfront

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