Bluewater Trails celebrated the grand opening of their River Road Nwebin Wiigwaamens Gazebo and Interpretive Centre on St. Clair Parkway Thursday afternoon.
The project features new additions including a paved shoulder for cyclists and pedestrians, and a gazebo with information on the Aamjiwnanng First Nation.
"We have a new paved shoulder that we put in from Lasalle Line south to the refineries with one section missing," says Bluewater Trails Chairman Jared Fedora. "Here we also have an extended guard rail to protect our pedestrians, and we have a nice gazebo to give some nice folks a rest."
The trail helps to promote safe and active lifestyles for residents along the river.
"We had a lot of complaints about cyclists taking up space or cars not paying attention. So, we wanted to make sure that our cyclists had a safe and healthy place to ride, pedestrians had a place to walk," adds Fedora.
Bluewater Trails is tasked with providing Sarnia and Point Edward a safe and reliable trail system to promote an active lifestyle.
"It really was quite dangerous to get ourselves as city residents safely through the industrial community and then along this busy stretch of the road," says City Councillor Bev MacDougall reflecting on what was available before the new additions. "With the river and the view here, it's quite distracting for drivers."
The River Road Trail is the latest installment of the city's Connecting Communities project and is aimed at connecting Bluewater Trails' system with the rest of Sarnia-Lambton.
