| Lambton County Regional Trails Committee Tour of Sarnia-Pt. Edward The August meeting of the Lambton County Regional Trails Committee, a progressively larger group of people gathering monthly at county headquarters in Wyoming since their first meeting in March 2000, decided to embark on a program of site visits to assess the state of trail development in the various locations. Sarnia's Bluewater Trails Committee was asked to host the county regional group and others were invited for whom such a tour might be of interest. We did so in that brief window of clear weather Saturday morning, September 23/00. Our itinerary began with a walk south along the river starting at Bayshore Park, with its flag court and MacPherson Fountain, to Ferry Dock Hill where a Sarnia Transit bus, graciously provided by the City, would transport us further. Rainbow Park and the adjacent CN lands, a prospect for park development, were pointed out. While driving through that portion of the Chemical Valley, we couldn't help but wonder why newly-painted Vidal Street wasn't re-striped to accommodate bicycle lanes, as had been earlier indicated to our committee. We all got out at the Suncor/First Nations property to hear Jim Maness outline what is intended there. Of course they plan to naturally link to the St. Clair River Trail at city limits. This stretch will feature a trail for bicycles separated from the road at road elevation. The service road used to install shoreline protection at river's edge would be upgraded. Proposed new docks into the river would accommodate fishermen and others wishing to stop. A series of interpretive signs are planned to explain Native history and culture. As we backtracked, off-road but adjacent trail potential is evident along the Suncor and Dow curves with a level rail crossing at Dow's side of the road overpass. The Dow representative, John Barker, gave the news that in response to employee demand, informal meetings had occurred among some companies with Vidal Street frontage to explore trail building possibilities in that strip between the curb and fenced property. We would next stop at the "Point Lands" with the Great Lakes Model, its observation tower and broader network of paths further on in this natural wetland area. Point Edward has a new crosswalk installed on Venetian Boulevard as well as an adjacent paved trail. Our stop near the water plant found welcome open washrooms and coming down from the lookout, we found a couple of very successful fishermen with their catch of 2 coho salmon and 2 lake trout - very impressive lunkers each in the range of 15 pounds, destined for the smoker. Terry McCallum, who heads Community Services for Sarnia, relieved Brenda Lorenz, vice-chair of Bluewater Trails, of commentary to point out various features in Canatara Park, the newest effort the ongoing establishment of a tall grass prairie patch. We would next stop at the Phil Turner Memorial Gate of the Howard Watson Nature Trail on the east side of Modeland Road after taking Cathcart Boulevard. (Through the newly designated historic gates once found at old city limits on East Street which have found a home for some time at the entrance to Canatara Park.) Our hike a couple hundred meters in would be on that part of the trail that has the most interest for naturalists with its concentration of a great variety of plant life. Onto Lakeshore Road and Brenda would point out the potential this through route has for on-road bicycle lanes and an adjacent paved trail for some time in the future, likely if this area would become serviced by sewers and the road rebuilt. Our final stop at the Suncor Recreation Centre would again lead us to the water. There, Suncor has installed at their expense new groynes and made other improvements. We would walk on a well-beaten path along the Old Lakeshore Road right of way to the still standing Cull Drain bridge. This still very useable and in-need-of-rehabilitation relic from 1910 will be considered for "historical structure" designation by the Sarnia Historical Society. George Sunaitis intends to submit an application, endorsed by Bluewater Trails, for such a purpose. We hope this bridge can serve the public again, this time as part of a continuous waterfront trail network compared to an earlier vehicular role when folks flocked to the beach, Kenwick-on-the-Lake and other still earlier resort activity. Much history can be recovered with interpretive signs here and on tour day, with low water levels, such was evident with visible spiles from an earlier bridge and former pier. After the heavy overnight rains the Cull Drain was certainly doing its job, over 140 years after it was originally dug. Old Lakeshore Road in Bright's Grove is segmented up to Water Works Road and where vehicles can't go, a very popular paved trail is there for public use. It would have been nice to see the new armour stone installations on the lakeshore towards city limits but we were running late. The Dennis Rupert Prairie Reserve was pointed out, as were the Wawanosh Wetlands, itself a stop you could easily spend several hours at. Sarnia really does have an almost incredible combination of lake and river fronts. I can't think of any place that I've been to that has such a wealth of waterfront. Significant portions for public access remain to be developed, recovered and improved. We hope the developing momentum so evident in each of the groups represented will find a welcome reception in the political arena. We hope they'll elevate the priority of these initiatives, where, as has been clearly demonstrated in so many other places, leads to expanded tourist interest and an improved quality of life for residents. George Sunaitis October 4, 2000 |
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