Bruce has been a long time promoter of the Welland Canal Parkway

TRAIL NEWS

The Greater Niagara Circle Route and its paved Multi use Trail is open for use by walkers, roller bladders , cyclists and wheelchairs operators, even electric scooters. No motorcycles, ATVs or gas motor assisted vehicles.

The GNCR is complete full circle , Lake to Lake , Falls to Flight Locks ,

BUT

The section of Lakeshore Road between Niagara on the Lake and St.Catharines is not really bike friendly or walker friendly.  There is a large portion that has no bike lanes and would need serious widening to get bike lanes.

So

The job is not done yet. The Toronto symphony’s Project Niagara offered the potential for much bigger widening project on that part of Lakeshore so the Bike lanes project was stalled for a while.
Rebuilding Lakeshore Road with Bike Lanes will be a priority for the Greater Niagara Circle Route Committee this term. The EA for this work had begun a few years ago, and should be restarted now that the Project Niagara is not going ahead.

OTHER NEWS

The East Pier “ George Nicholson” extension of the GNCR was opened in 2010. The City of St.Catharines managed the construction and planning of this stone dust trail from Jones Beach Park to the very end of the pier and its Light house. There is a fabulous view of Canal, the Lake, and you can see both the CN Tower in Toronto and the Casino Tower in Niagara Falls from that same spot.
The construction was paid for by the Region, with resources carefully managed by Senior Planner George Nicholson.  We couldn’t have done it without George.  And we couldn’t have done it without Stewart Green of City Parks and the support of Ward Councillor Bill Phillips and Dawn Dodge and the entire City Council. The trail will be maintained by the City.
The new signs on the trail at Ansell Park Lock One show the extension and how to get there. It is a spectacular addition to the Greater Niagara Circle route worth visiting by foot or bicycle.

The East Side Trail

The Wild side, this trail is an unimproved single track trail on the East Side of the Welland Canal. It runs from Regional Road 20 south to 2nd Concession in Port Colborne.

PAST NEWS

From the St. Catharines Standard, April 25, 1997, by Janet Davidson, Standard StaffCanal parkway partnersRotary club and dry docks joining forces to lead creation of welcome area and small park

Its anchors aweigh for the first major private sector involvement in the decades old dream of a Welland Canals Parkway.

Port Weller Dry Docks hopes to put artifacts such as anchors and bollards on display as it joins with a St. Catharines Rotary club to lead creation of a $360,000 welcome area and small park at the north end of the parkway.

Members of the Lakeshore Rotary club agreed unanimously Wednesday to chip in $7,500 for design of the area at Lakeshore and Bunting roads, across the canal from the dry docks. The dry docks is matching the donation for design of the landscaped area identified as a "gateway" in the parkway master plan.

Discussion between the two groups, spurred in part by club member and parkway proponent Bruce Timms, has been ongoing for a few weeks.

The company´s involvement follows the success and satisfaction it felt donating time and materials to build a bridge for the Green Ribbon Trail in west St. Catharines.

"We were looking for a project that we could get involved in the community," dry docks general manager Charlie Payne said yesterday.

Talks with union representatives suggest dry docks workers will want to become involved.

"We feel that it helps build the community spirit and awareness within the whole organization," said Payne.

The marine theme development, which could provide parking for 20 to 30 cars and one or two busses, will likely be named for Charles Ansel, founder of the dry docks. Displays could explain dry docks activities. Completion could come within three years.

Albert Scales, president of the Rotary Club of St. Catharines Lakeshore, said the group had been looking for a project to help increase its involvement and profile in the community.

"We´ve been really excited by this," Scales said, noting the legacy it will leave for the community. Scales sees "endless possibilities" for the project. The rotary club will lead efforts to attract community support, donations and volunteer time for the project. The club hopes to follow the successful model which evolved during Green Ribbon Trail development and raised more than $300,000 in cash, volunteer work and other services.

Timms, leader of Niagara Region's drive to create the parkway, hopes the partnership will provide impetus for further parkway investment.

"We hope it will be a model and provoke other corporations to get involved in this early."

The Rotary contribution comes as regional politicians create the committee to oversee parkway development.

"People can start to believe after all these years that the parkway will happen," said Timms.

City staff have been approached about the project. Council support will be sought for ongoing maintenance of the park on land owned by the St. Lawrence Seaway Authority.

The decades of dreaming and years of planning for a Welland canals Parkway are finally starting to bear fruit.

Members of Niagara Region's planning committee took the first concrete step toward building the recreational trail yesterday.

Politicians agreed to set up a committee to oversee development of the project which could cost up to $40 million over 15 years.

St. catharines Councillor Bruce Timms, who has been leading the regional drive for the parkway, called yesterday's action a "substantial" step in the life of the parkway.

"Now we´re ready to build and we have to raise the money to do it."

Regional politicians have heaped lavish praise on the project, but it was never mentioned during recent budget debate. While $1 million is included in regional capital budget proposals for each of 1998, 1999 and 2000, this year officials are hoping to tap the anticipated federal-provincial-municipal infrastructure funding program.

That program is mired in a squabble between Queen's Park and Ottawa.

"It´s frustrating," Timms said of the infrastructure controversy. "I think the province should set their criteria (for projects) and let the local municipalities set the priorities."

The parkway committee, which will likely be endorsed by regional council next week, is expected to ask the Region and local municipalities to put the project at the top of the list for infrastructure projects.

Yesterday´s creation of the committee comes after Niagar a's 12 local municipalities endorsed the parkway plan. Municipalities through which the parkway will pass asked their staffs to make sure official plans and zoning bylaws are in line with the parkway plan approved by regional council last year.

The committee approved yesterday will negotiate with the St.lawrence Seaway Authority for use of canal-side land.

Parkway promoters also want to strike partnerships with the private sector for the project, touted as a catalyst for economic and tourism development. The 56-kilometer trail system could eventually pump more than $200 million annually into the local economy.

When completed, the parkway will offer trails and routes geared towards hikers, cyclists, equestrians and motorists. Plans call for links with other trails including the Niagara Parkway.

Tourism in Niagara-on-the-Lake would benefit from the creation of the Welland Canal Parkway, regional councillor Bruce Timms told Niagara-on-the-Lake council last week.

"NOTL would benefit as much, if not more, from the (Welland) Canal Parkway," Timms said.

"We expect people to come to NOTL for the Shaw, its wineries and historical sites, or Niagara Falls for its attractions and then be convinced there is more to see in Niagara because of the Parkway," Timms said, adding it was the region's "hope to add a day to the average stay in the region."

While the route for the proposed parkway could skin the western side of NOTL, it is proposed to connect the Welland Canal Parkway with the Niagara Parkway through already existing roads. In Port Colborne, where the Canal Parkway would end, Highway 3 would connect the two parkways and in NOTL Lakeshore Road would serve a similar purpose.

"Lakeshore Road already exists as a wine route," said Timms "so it is one of the proposed routes to be promoted."

Timms and regional municipalities might contribute to the project through regional levies and/or time donated by planning staffs.

"We have yet to properly address municipal involvement," he said, but added once the parkway was established maintenance would be the responsibility of each municipality.

Director of planing and development Will Walker said the town "supports the route'" but has yet to "address commitments of time or money the town will provide" towards the project.

"I think it is a great idea," said Alderman Jamie Slingerland, echoing the opinions of much of council. "We are here to do what we can."

The route would consist of a motorway, a biking-hiking trail and various recreational locations, including historical plaques and park areas.

An area of NOTL south of York Road to Glendale Avenue has been identified as one potential recreational development area for the Parkway --- although it may not be appropriate as the lands are considered a wetland by the Ministry of Environment.

In September of last year regional government established the Welland Canals Parkway committee to pursue the development of the Parkway. An initial report is due from the committee in March.