Riverfront Bike Trail
Riverfront Bike Trail | |
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The Roy A. Battagello River Walk Bike Trail is the current backbone of the "Windsor Loop" bike trail network in Windsor, Ontario. The bike trail travels from the foot of the Ambassador Bridge (at Peter Street and Huron Church Road), to traffic lights at Riverside Drive and Lincoln Avenue (continuing as bike lanes to George Avenue and Wyandotte Street, for a total distance of 8.0 km (5.0 mi)). This makes the trail the second-longest trail in the City of Windsor (the longest being the mostly-unpaved West Windsor Recreationway), at 8.0 km.
The trail travels through Windsor's downtown, and many of its parks, such as
Start and end points
The bike trail starts officially at Peter Street and Huron Church Road, across the street from the
Service centers
The Riverfront Trail is unique among the
Connections with other trails
The Riverfront Trail currently connects to the Russell Street Neighbourhood Trail and the College Avenue Recreationway via Bike-Friendly Routes (sign-designated residential streets used as connectors, where cyclists have more safety than on busy arterial roads). The Russell Street Neighbourhood Trail will have a direct connection to the Riverfront Trail within the next 10 years. See the Expansion section below for more information.
Heading along the College Avenue Recreationway, a
At the end of the
Trans-Canada Trail
In 2003, the City of Windsor began placing small
Cleary Guest House
The Cleary Guest House (also known as the Queen Elizabeth rest stop) was the focus of a recent controversy in regard to tearing down the structure and replacing it with a new service center of the same name. On May 8, 2007, the Cleary Guest House was torn down (and a temporary detour for the trail was made), to make way for a "Peace Beacon". See below for what has succeeded the Queen Elizabeth Guest House.
Upgrades
In June 2006, construction and upgrades were completed near the Caron Street Pumping Station, just across from the CBC Windsor television studio. The pedestrian traffic was segregated onto its own path, and cyclists were given priority over a small portion of the bike trail (around a kilometre in length), with the introduction of a playground and expanded (and paved) parking lot for people to park and ride.
The city and Windsor Star have done a poll on AM 800 CKLW at the beginning of September 2006, and the respondents said they would like to have a small casual restaurant along the trail (such as a pizza stall), near the Cleary Guest House for joggers, park-goers, and cyclists. The City of Windsor commented that it would be below-ground, to keep parkland open and allow an unobstructed view of the Detroit skyline.
In place of the torn-down Queen Elizabeth Guest House, a much larger and better-accessible restaurant was built into the hillside at the corner of Ouellette Avenue and Riverside Drive, with an expanded parking lot next to it. The new restaurant is named "The Bistro at the River" and is run by the local "Naples Pizza" chain of pizza parlours.
The parking lot at Dieppe gardens has been expanded, along with the
Talks of expansion
Recently, the City of Windsor's
As of 2006, Windsor City Council has been in talks with
- Via trains would be re-routed to use the tracks near the )
- Hiram Walker Distillery would be provided compensation for the loss of railway, in an unspecified manner. The tracks would be torn up in favour of a road or long cycleway, making the city much safer, as many people have died in fatal automobile-train accidents.
- The trains would use the same tracks (towards the truck tunnelis nearly dead.
- Until the railway can be bought (and if the deal fails), the bike lanes along Wyandotte Street East would be extended to St. Rose Avenue, where they would meet the Ganatchio Trail.
- Although the trail is indirectly connected to the nearby Russell Street Neighbourhood Trail, there is no direct connection yet, and many people have been wanting City Council to approve a direct connection along Riverside Drive. This has been announced that it will go through, but may take a few years, as more pressing bike trails require attention (such as the cross-town connection to the Ganatchio Trail). This link will make travel to the Sandwich Town neighbourhood safer. Another possible link is the Riverside Drive Vista Project. See that article for more information.
- The City of Windsor's Parks and Recreation department has rectified the gap between the Riverfront Trail and Sandwich Towne and its Russell Street Neighbourhood Trail, by extending bicycle lanes along University Avenue and Sandwich Street, all the way to Prince Road.
Windsor Loop
The City of Windsor has expressed intentions on creating a
See also
- Cycling in Detroit
- Grand Marais Trail
- Ganatchio Trail
- Little River Extension
- Russell Street Neighbourhood Trail
- Devonwood Bike Trail
- Riverside Drive Vista Project
- Bike Trails in the City of Windsor
- Trans-Canada Trail
- Odette Sculpture Park
- List of trails in Canada