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Residents in London’s core-area SoHo neighbourhood will soon be able to connect in a safer way to the city’s recreational pathway system – the Thames Valley Parkway trail – thanks to millions of dollars in new provincial and federal funding.
As part of the project, city hall is planning to build a 750-metre extension for cyclists and pedestrians starting at the intersection of Maitland and Nelson streets, just south of downtown, and going west along the Thames River – linking the neighbourhood to the 43-kilometre network that criss-crosses the city.
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The project is also expected to include a new park and other amenities, including a location for cyclists to safely secure their bikes.
It’s one of seven active transportation projects – some still need to be determined – for which the city will receive $14.7 million from Ottawa and Queen’s Park. The city itself will contribute $9.8 million.
“This is just one of many, many projects across the city where this $24 million and change will . . . be invested in new bike lanes, new park connections, new pathway connections, all around active transportation, which really enhances the quality of life in our city,” Mayor Josh Morgan said.
Morgan described the project as a key element that will contribute to the ongoing revitalization of the SoHo neighbourhood.
Thursday’s funding announcement, for instance, was made at the intersection of Colborne and South streets, right next to the old Victoria Hospital lands where construction crews are building a massive highrise with 680 affordable housing apartments, part of a project dubbed Vision SoHo.
The hospital was a long-vacant building surrounded by vacant lands. Now, there’s new infrastructure, Morgan said.
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“We now have housing for all sorts of different types of needs on this site, and significant investment into the pathway, parks and recreation infrastructure through the announcement today . . . so that’s really what city building is about,” he said.
“Fast-growing cities are tough to manage. But when you pull all of the different government partners together, you really can create something that is vibrant, visionary and sustainable for the future.”
Construction on the connection to the Thames Valley Parkway trail is expected to start in 2025.
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