Here’s the first news of a major change to our neighbourhood’s Seaview Walk.
Trail will link Deep Cove with H. Bay
Province gives $3.7M towards hiking/biking trail; municipalities must match the grant
Martin Millerchip
mmillerchip@nsnews.com
This time the “greenway” plan is genuine – no fooling!
Despite a certain similarity to the front page of the North Shore News on April 1, the map above represents an almost unprecedented level of co-operation between the three North Shore municipalities and the province. And while the red lines on the map are, in some cases, no more than a best guess, the commitment to an east-west trail across the North Shore for the use of pedestrians and cyclists is genuine.
The three North Shore mayors, all four North Shore MLAs and Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon gathered Wednesday afternoon to announce that the province will give the North Shore municipalities $3.7 million towards the creation of the North Shore Spirit Trail.
Falcon publicly thanked the North Shore News for its April Fool’s story of a four-lane highway along the waterfront. “They have caused me no end of grief as a result of that story,” he said amid laughter from the assembled media. “Although I won’t be going ahead with that particular announcement today, I am pleased that this announcement is real and going ahead,” Falcon said with good humour.
Falcon announced that the City of North Vancouver will receive $980,000, the District of North Vancouver will receive $708,233 and the District of West Vancouver $2 million.
The money will come from the LocalMotion program, part of the province’s Green Cities project created to make B.C. communities greener and healthier places to live.
While the funding is coming from LocalMotion, the concept of the Spirit Trail was a project approved by the North Shore Spirit of B.C. Committee. That committee was created under the umbrella of 2010 Legacies Now and includes participation from the North and West Vancouver chambers of commerce, First Nations, cultural and sporting organizations, school districts and municipalities. The purpose of the committee is to identify, access and maximize the economic, environmental and social benefits of the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.
According to Marc Black of the Ministry of Community Services, LocalMotion will put $40 million over four years towards capital projects that provide alternate transportation options to improve physical fitness and safety, reduce air pollution and conserve energy.
The LocalMotion program delivers funds as part of a cost-sharing arrangement, so the $3.7-million grant must be matched by the municipalities.
While the setting for the press conference was in front of the Squamish Nation sculpture Sna7m Sm nit (Spirit of the Mountain) in Ambleside Park and the Spirit Trail is intended to traverse four Squamish reserves, there was no Squamish Nation representative at the press conference and District of North Vancouver Mayor Richard Walton admitted that the Tsleil-Waututh Nation had yet to be approached about their participation in the project.
However, all present agreed that the project had come as far as it has in an incredibly short period of time (six months) given the amount of cross-government co-operation required and were positive and upbeat about the ultimate success of the Spirit Trail.
It’s unclear at this point exactly how much of the trail will be achieved with this funding announcement, or how much more funding will still be required to complete the entire east-west greenway. But Wednesday’s announcement did contain some of the immediate priorities:
- In the city, the $980,000 together with municipal funding is earmarked “to provide greenway access from the Lower Lonsdale waterfront to Moodyville Park and on to Sunrise Park and (Park and) Tilford Centre.”
- $596,033, together with municipal funding, will go towards the Seymour River Greenway in the District of North Vancouver “to provide separate path and on-road bicycle lands and sidewalks as well as a staircase with wheelchair accessible bypass on a 3.5-kilometre greenway that will link North Vancouver’s alpine area with the waterfront.
- $112,200 (plus municipal funding) will be dedicated to the Cates Park/Whey-ah-Wichen Park Trail, a 1.3-km trail through the popular waterfront park. According to the plan, “The trail will also harmonize with other recreational activities in the park including tennis and a kayak/canoe launch.”
- There is only a general statement attached to the largest grant of $2 million in West Vancouver: “Approximately 15 km in length, the West Vancouver Greenway path generally follows the foreshore utilizing existing pathways, lanes, park roads, local roads and the rail right-of-way. Path segments independent of existing roads will be paved and lit.”
Use of portions of the CN right-of-way is integral to part of the proposed route. While there is no formal agreement in place yet, politicians and planners said exploratory talks with the rail company have gone well.
Officials hope the CN right-of-way can be used to:
- connect Eagle Harbour in West Vancouver to an existing Caulfeild trail;
- connect Clovelly Walk in West Vancouver to McKechnie Park;
- provide a pathway between 23rd Street and 18th Street in West Vancouver;
- provide a pathway through the Squamish Nation’s Mission Reserve in the city;
- provide a bicycle commuter route along the interchange track west of Lonsdale Quay while pedestrians use existing waterfront pathways.
John Fair, president of the Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition said the Spirit Trail is intended for recreational rather than commuter use. In some places, the bike route will be different to the pedestrian route, but where the trail is shared, Fair said he hopes it will be four metres wide. The intent is to keep the trail off roads wherever possible.
