City politicians came together Wednesday for a groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate the start of the last leg of construction on the Kiwanis Park Pathway system near the future Pottersburg Creek Bridge in east London.
The recreational pathway system south of Trafalgar Street and over the Canadian National Railway Lands will connect neighbourhoods surrounding Kiwanis Park to the Thames Valley Parkway and the Thames River.
“This project when completed will allow people in east London, in particular, the Argyle area, to bike all the way from Argyle to the downtown, and all along the Thames River,” said city councillor Bill Armstrong.
“Besides the recreational component, this will be when completed a very safe corridor now for people to travel from east London to work in the downtown.”
The 1.3 kilometres being added will extend the recreational path for a total of 166 kilometres.
Chair of the Argyle community association Shawn Lewis told AM980 the community has been pushing this request for several years.
“Kids who are in the Fairmont subdivision, kids who are north of Fairmont to the north side of the tracks, they all hang out and they do things together,” said Lewis.
“Unfortunately the truth is they’ve been crossing the tracks and when this path is complete they’re going to have a safe way to get from Tweedsmuir Public School to Princess Anne Public School to hang out with their friends.”
All three levels of government contributed funding to cover the $5.47 million cost of the project with the city of London kicking in $2.2 million.