It’s welcome news for cyclists in London.
Councillors are looking at bridging the gap between two sections of the Thames Valley Parkway.
“(We want to) fully connect the Thames Valley Parkway to areas of London that just aren’t connected at this point in time because of the river crossing,” said Ward 6 Coun. Phil Squire.
For years, users of the trail system have been stymied by a one-kilometre break in the trail between Richmond Street near Western University and the playing fields on Adelaide Street near Windermere Road.
A report coming to the city’s civic works committee on Tuesday recommends that J-AAR Excavating be awarded the $6.2-million contract to build the missing path section between Ross Park and the North London Athletic Fields.
“What we’re trying to do is make sure that everyone, whether you are a runner or a cyclist, can go from the north area of the city and get all the way through the downtown to Springbank Park using the Thames Valley Parkway,” said Squire.
The project’s price tag, including design, administration and an architectural study, comes in at $7.5 million, but not all of it will be coming from the city.
“We now have the opportunity to access funds outside of the municipality from the province that’s going to make a substantial contribution, about 50 per cent of the cost,” said Squire.
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The Ontario Municipal Commuter Cycling program will cover $3.3 million of the cost.
Early construction is slated to start this year, with the trail section usable by the fall of 2020.
— With files from Jake Jeffrey