Woolwich Township and the Grand River Conservation Authority have teamed up to give walkers and hikers a safe spot to park while using the trails around the Woolwich Reservoir.
The trails, maintained and championed by the local Lions Club, are used all year round by residents and visitors to the area to take the dog for a walk, spot that rare warbler, or even catch some dinner. Until now, winter access to the conservation area surrounding the Woolwich Reservoir, while open to foot traffic, has posed a problem for those who drive to the area.
Dave Bennett, director of operations with the GRCA, the group responsible for the dam, says wintertime users were parking their cars unsafely before walking into the area to get to the trails. Now, they have an alternative: a designated parking lot.
“We close the area (to cars) in the winter, and obviously residents desire to use the area. They were parking on Reid Woods Drive, which is a very narrow right-of-way, and causing a traffic hazard,” he said. “We needed to keep the driveway closed, but we still wanted to give people the opportunity to walk into the area.”
Cars had been known to park in front of the closed fence at the dam, creating problems for the GRCA. If they ever needed to access the dam in an emergency, the way could be blocked. The driveway also isn’t plowed very often, creating snow hazards for cars parked in the area. Now, that has been fixed.
Dan Kennaley, Woolwich Township’s director of engineering and planning, says the parking lot was an easy fix for the safety hazards that arose from winter parking on Reid Woods Drive. The township amended its parking bylaw to preclude parking along shoulders of Floradale Road.
“We signed the road accordingly so that no parking was permitted there, but at the same time, we didn’t want to eliminate the possibility of people using the trails in the winter,” he said, mentioning that the partnership with the GRCA went smoothly, with a finished product before the winter of 2015 came along. “We pushed ahead and were able to complete it this fall just before the gate was closed. Now people have a safe place to park.”
The new parking lot can fit eight vehicles and is situated on a piece of property acquired by the township from an adjacent property owner. A fence was put up around the area, and the GRCA took over from there.
“It happened pretty quickly,” said Bennett. “Start to finish, it took about a month between the fence getting put in and us coming in with the contractor. We had to remove some trees and put in the parking spaces. The township acquired the property from the adjacent land owner, had the fencing installed and went through the process of getting surveys and everything.”
The project isn’t 100 per cent complete, however. Kennaley says the township is confident the project was a success, but there is still one more step to take before all the ‘i’s are dotted and the ‘t’s crossed.
“We’re really pleased with it,” he said. “We are really happy about working with the conservation authority as well – that partnership effort. The only thing left to do now is to transfer the land. We are going to recommend to council that we transfer the land to the conservation authority.”
The GRCA has agreed to keep up with the new parking area in the wintertime with regular plowing and general maintenance.
