| North Shore News |
CITY of North Vancouver council gave a thumbs up Monday to the proposed path the Spirit Trail will take throughout the municipality.
The Spirit Trail is a multi-use waterfront-oriented trail that is intended to ultimately connect Horseshoe Bay to Deep Cove.
Once complete it will provide walkers, cyclists, in-line skaters and people using mobility aids with a dedicated alternative transportation route across the North Shore.
The city’s section runs 6.5 kilometres between King’s Mill Walk and Harbourside Business Park in the west to Moodyville Park and Park and Tilford toward the city’s eastern boundary.
The proposed route follows the water’s edge where possible, links with and uses existing intra-urban trail systems, diverges from vehicular traffic and in sections separates user groups with alternative pathways.
Some design challenges include linking sections of trail over rail lines, intersections and right-of-way passages, as well as working with the various topographies on the route.
The trail system is to be waterfront oriented, act as an ecological corridor, have a unique identity, be accessible to all, form a linear park and be separate from traffic, Dave Hutch, city landscape architect told council Monday.
One overall objective is to link North Shore destinations, he said.
“The Spirit Trail is both going to be a journey and a destination,” said Hutch.
“This plan is a wonderful vision for having a trail network that spans one side of our community to the other and that joins us with our neighbouring communities,” said Coun. Sam Schechter.
The value and importance of the trail go beyond the path itself to the partnerships born out of the process, he said.
Currently, the city is working with the Squamish Nation on design for the leg of the trail that runs through the Mosquito Creek Marina. Construction on that portion of the trail is set to begin this summer.
Discussions between the city and CN Rail are underway for shared use of the CN right-of-way to connect Harbourside Business Park with Marine Drive.
In 2007, the province granted the city $980,000 through the LocalMotion program to assist in building a multi-use trail from Lower Lonsdale to Moodyville Park.
The Spirit Trail is an initiative of 2010 Legacies Now.
Regionally, the Spirit Trail will interlink (via the SeaBus) with the Central Valley Greenway, a 25-km multi-use pathway linking New Westminster to Stanley Park via Burnaby.
For more information on the Spirit Trail go to www.cnv.org.
Research shows that legitimate trail access encourages neighbourhood interaction, which builds safer neighbourhoods.
Tags: Central Valley Greenway, City of North Vancouver, Dave Hutch, Sam Schechter, Spirit Trail, www.cnv.org
