Marianne Alacoque, Transportation Systems Engineer gave a quick overview of the Kelly's Brook Trail project. Also in attendance were:
- Mike Adam, Operations Supervisor - Parks
- Garrett Donaher, Transportation Engineer
- Warren Martin, Stantec Consulting; and
- Carolyn Longaphie, Trace Planning and Design
Kelly's Brook Shared-Use-Path is the first catalyst project coming from the Bike St John's Master Plan. The shared-use path will extend from King's Bridge Road to Columbus Drive. It is mostly in place as a granular walking trail today, linking several neighbourhoods through an important east-west greenway that largely parallels Empire Avenue. Its goal is to provide an attractive and continuous 4.8 km active transportation route in St. John’s, connecting popular destinations and amenities along the way. The shared-use path will be designed for use by people of all ages and abilities. The potential trail way was outlined on a map for the members of the Committee.
The shared-use path will be professionally designed by a team of consultants working closely with City staff. Part of the consultant’s contract is to plan and execute public engagement on the design elements, with a focus on the environment, trail users and impacted neighbourhoods. The City is specifically looking for public feedback to inform these design elements: lighting, surface material choice, trailhead and rest area design, and wayfinding.
There has been quite a bit of public discussion about the potential environmental impacts of working on the section of trail between Portugal Cove Road and Kings Bridge Road. The City is still collecting data before making any final decisions about this area.
Throughout the design and consultation process for these trail upgrades, there will be careful attention paid to the environment, wildlife habitat, and impact on neighbourhoods. The consultant team will:
- Investigate impacts to wildlife, habitats, nesting areas and movement patterns – considering both construction and long-term impacts.
- Explore alternatives and relative environmental impacts along Rennie’s River of installing boardwalk, retaining walls, or shifting the preliminary route alignment.
- Complete a Tree Inventory, Tree Protection Plan, and Landscaping Plan. The Tree Protection Plan will identify trees to be retained and protected through the construction process. Where feasible to do so efforts will be made to preserve existing trees and natural features. In areas where removal of existing vegetation is necessary replacement planting will be required.
The shared used trail would be 3m wide with stable surface material. Consultants are still exploring options for surface materials. The Committee was provided with the link to the engage page for Rennie's River Flood Mitigation.
During the subsequent discussion, the following points were made:
- Kelly's Brook trail has minimal environmental impacts.
- If the flood mitigation goes ahead as proposed that would have more of an environmental impact than paving the trail.
- There are three segments of flood mitigation. The proposed multi use trail width will be given consideration when designing the berms. There will also be consideration made for the trees and vegetation along the trail.
- It was questioned if there has been consideration for the safety of pedestrians/cyclists crossing Rennie's Mill Road at Empire Avenue. This intersection has bad sightlines and a history of collisions. This will be a design challenge, particularly if the shared-use path route stays along Empire Avenue instead of along Rennie’s River.
- There are significant design challenges where Empire Avenue meets with Kings Bridge Road. The area is congested and there is not a lot of space to work with.
- The stretch between Portugal Cove Road and Kings Bridge Road is problematic. It was questioned if there has been consideration for splitting the route for cyclists and pedestrians on that stretch of the trail. In response it was advised there are limitations of the width of the street and space constraints for accessibility would mean it would have to be a shared use path facility.
- Street crossings along the trail would be improved using curb bump outs and raised crosswalks where possible.
Members were invited to provide any further comment via email and questions can be directed to City staff.