Welland Recreational Waterway

Last updated
The Recreational Waterway north of the Townline Road plug. Welland Recreational Waterway.jpg
The Recreational Waterway north of the Townline Road plug.

The Welland Recreational Waterway is a water channel in the city of Welland, Ontario, Canada. It is an old alignment of the Welland Ship Canal that was abandoned after the construction of the Welland By-Pass in the 1970s. The Waterway is now managed by the Welland Recreational Canal Corporation to provide enjoyment for the city's residents. Most local residents refer to it as the old canal or simply the canal.

Contents

Original plans

The bottom of the canal was at a time proposed to become a roadbed for an extension of Highway 406. However, that never came to be and the old canal was retained in an almost original state with the purpose of developing several recreational facilities and tourist attractions along its shores. The plans called for fishing platforms, water slides, boat rental points, as well as marine and rail historical exhibits. To date most of these plans have not been realized, but some are in the process of being accomplished.

Changes

Some changes have been made to the Waterway's original shape since the construction of the By-Pass. The most significant modification is an earth plug that bisects the Waterway along Ontario Highway 58A (between Humberstone Road and Townline Tunnel Road). This was necessary due to very long (4 km, or 2.5 miles) low-grade approaches to the Townline Tunnel required for trains to travel underneath the new canal segment.

The Waterway's no-wake zone. Merritt Island with its path appear opposite the channel. Welland Recreational Waterway 2.jpg
The Waterway's no-wake zone. Merritt Island with its path appear opposite the channel.

As multiple leaking problems were surfacing with the aqueduct that carries the Welland River underneath the old alignment, it was decided to control the problem by drilling intentional holes in the aqueduct. As a result, the Welland River downstream of the aqueduct is partially fed from the canal, and the flow in the northern section of the Waterway has reversed to compensate for the water flowing into the river.

The old alignment was originally spanned by five vertical lift bridges and a railroad swing bridge (bridge 15). After the relocation, two of the bridges were replaced by modern fixed-span bridges and another had its towers removed due to excessive cost of potential renovation. Two more bridges were built in the northern section of the Waterway, and a bridge was constructed in downtown Welland to twin the East Main Street bridge.

The Waterway today

Today, pedestrian and bicycle pathways line both banks of the Waterway. The pathways are important components of Welland's pedestrian and bicycle transportation network, providing a safe and pleasant environment in which to move about the central part of the city. A section that is particularly popular is the path on Merritt Island, a carefully cared for, elongated strip of land created when the old alignment of the canal was constructed basically parallel to the Welland River. Signs outlining the path and listing local attractions have been erected along the paths. The equally popular 140-km Greater Niagara Circle Route (GNCR) also runs along the canal, and is used by residents and tourists alike.

Welland City Councillors placed a motorboat prohibition on the waterway known as the "Go Quietly" by-law, [1] turning the former shipping canal into a waterway suitable for kayaking, rowing, canoeing and paddle boating.

The Welland Recreational Canal Corporation [2] is an organization whose board of directors is made up of three members of city council and six citizens. The corporation is responsible for the protection and development of the canal and adjacent lands, and has inaugurated various programs, including a canoe/paddle boat rental facility and numerous fishing platforms.

Downtown Welland, with the Waterway in the foreground, the Civic Square on the left, and the historic vertical lift East Main Street Bridge (Bridge #13) on the right. Welland Canal downtown.jpg
Downtown Welland, with the Waterway in the foreground, the Civic Square on the left, and the historic vertical lift East Main Street Bridge (Bridge #13) on the right.

Future plans

The Waterway is seen as a crucial part of plans for revival of downtown Welland. The Civic Square, housing the city hall and the library, was newly built by the canal. The Welland Recreational Waterway Master Plan is available online [3] and details proposals for the future of the canal.

In 2012, Bike Welland and ShortHills Cycling Club (SHCC) jointly presented a proposal to the Welland Recreational Canal Corporation (WRCC) for a 160-acre naturalized, urban park along the "northern reach" section of the Welland Canal. The land, which is embedded in the urban fabric, is already used by residents for hiking, trail running and mountain biking, and is the only section of the canal in Welland that is undeveloped. The Northern Reach Park would conserve the area for recreation and wildlife habitat, and continue to provide opportunities for hikers, runners, mountain bikers and cross-country skiers, as well as naturalists, to engage with a "natural" landscape. The proposal also outlines the potential of the park for sport tourism. [4] However, it was learned that the WRCC has plans to raze the area to build a solar farm, [5] although no public consultation has occurred and no information is available from their website or financial statements. [6]

In 2023, it was announced that LIV Communities will build over 3,800 homes on nearly 62 hectares of land along the Waterway. It will be known as "Lock and Quay", and accessed via Towpath Ave. Construction will begin in 2026. [7]

View of Merritt Island from the northern reach section of the Welland Canal. Northern-reach-welland-canal.jpg
View of Merritt Island from the northern reach section of the Welland Canal.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erie Canal</span> Waterway in New York, U.S.

The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east–west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing the costs of transporting people and goods across the Appalachians. In effect, the canal accelerated the settlement of the Great Lakes region, the westward expansion of the United States, and the economic ascendancy of New York State. It has been called "The Nation's First Superhighway."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand Union Canal</span> Canal in England

The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. It is the principal navigable waterway between London and the Midlands. Starting in London, one arm runs to Leicester and another ends in Birmingham, with the latter stretching for 137 miles (220 km) with 166 locks from London. The Birmingham line has a number of short branches to places including Slough, Aylesbury, Wendover, and Northampton. The Leicester line has two short arms of its own, to Market Harborough and Welford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Illinois and Michigan Canal</span> Canal system in Illinois (1848–1933)

The Illinois and Michigan Canal connected the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. In Illinois, it ran 96 miles (154 km) from the Chicago River in Bridgeport, Chicago to the Illinois River at LaSalle-Peru. The canal crossed the Chicago Portage, and helped establish Chicago as the transportation hub of the United States, before the railroad era. It was opened in 1848. Its function was partially replaced by the wider and deeper Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal in 1900, and it ceased transportation operations with the completion of the Illinois Waterway in 1933.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lancaster Canal</span> Canal in Northwest England

The Lancaster Canal is a canal in North West England, originally planned to run from Westhoughton in Lancashire to Kendal in south Cumbria. The section around the crossing of the River Ribble was never completed, and much of the southern end leased to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, of which it is now generally considered part.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Welland</span> City in Ontario, Canada

Welland is a city in the Regional Municipality of Niagara in Southern Ontario, Canada. As of 2021, it had a population of 55,750.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Welland Canal</span> Ship canal in Ontario, Canada, connecting Lake Ontario and Lake Erie

The Welland Canal is a ship canal in Ontario, Canada, and part of the St. Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes Waterway. The canal traverses the Niagara Peninsula between Port Weller on Lake Ontario, and Port Colborne on Lake Erie, and was erected because the Niagara River—the only natural waterway connecting the lakes—was unnavigable due to Niagara Falls. The Welland Canal enables ships to ascend and descend the Niagara Escarpment, and has followed four different routes since it opened.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand Canal (Ireland)</span> Canal in Ireland

The Grand Canal is the southernmost of a pair of canals that connect Dublin, in the east of Ireland, with the River Shannon in the west, via Tullamore and a number of other villages and towns, the two canals nearly encircling Dublin's inner city. Its sister canal on the Northside of Dublin is the Royal Canal. The last working cargo barge passed through the Grand Canal in 1960.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wey and Arun Canal</span> Canal in England

The Wey and Arun Canal is a partially open, 23-mile-long (37 km) canal in the southeast of England. It runs southwards from the River Wey at Gunsmouth in Shalford, Surrey to the River Arun at Pallingham, in West Sussex. The canal comprises parts of two separate undertakings – the northern part of the Arun Navigation, opened in 1787 between Pallingham and Newbridge Wharf, and the Wey and Arun Junction Canal, opened in 1816, which connected the Arun at Newbridge to the Godalming Navigation near Shalford, south of Guildford. The Arun Navigation was built with three locks and one turf-sided flood lock. The Junction Canal was built with 23 locks

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canals of the United Kingdom</span> Network of inland waterways

The canals of the United Kingdom are a major part of the network of inland waterways in the United Kingdom. They have a varied history, from use for irrigation and transport, through becoming the focus of the Industrial Revolution, to today's role of recreational boating. Despite a period of abandonment, today the canal system in the United Kingdom is again increasing in use, with abandoned and derelict canals being reopened, and the construction of some new routes. Canals in England and Wales are maintained by navigation authorities. The biggest navigation authorities are the Canal & River Trust and the Environment Agency, but other canals are managed by companies, local authorities or charitable trusts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montgomery Canal</span> Canal in Shropshire, England, and Powys, Wales

The Montgomery Canal, known colloquially as "The Monty", is a partially restored canal in eastern Powys and northwest Shropshire. The canal runs 33 miles (53 km) from the Llangollen Canal at Frankton Junction to Newtown via Llanymynech and Welshpool and crosses the England–Wales border.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Welland River</span> River in Southern Ontario

The Welland River is a river in the Golden Horseshoe that passes through the Southern Ontario cities of Welland and Niagara Falls. It flows from its source, a Drainage Basin just south of Hamilton, Ontario to meet the Niagara River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dain City, Ontario</span> Unincorporated community in Ontario, Canada

Dain City is a small suburb at the southernmost part of Welland, Ontario, Canada. At one time, it was a mostly self-contained rural community at the junction of two significant rail lines, part of the Township of Humberstone, and was called Welland Junction. The name was changed to Dain City after it was annexed to the city of Welland in the mid-1950s. Dain City was built for, and by, the Marshall Dain Manufacturing Company, the area's main employer, as a "company town".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hennepin Canal Parkway State Park</span> Canal in Illinois, United States of America

The Hennepin Canal State Trail, also just called the Hennepin Canal, is an abandoned waterway in northwest Illinois, between the Mississippi River at Rock Island and the Illinois River near Hennepin. The entire canal is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Townline Tunnel</span>

The Townline Tunnel is an underwater tunnel in Welland, Ontario, Canada carrying Highway 58A as well as the Canadian Pacific Railway under the Welland Canal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Welland By-Pass</span>

The Welland By-pass, completed in 1973, was a massive construction project on the Welland Canal in Ontario, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Navigable aqueduct</span> Man-made channel for water and transport

Navigable aqueducts are bridge structures that carry navigable waterway canals over other rivers, valleys, railways or roads. They are primarily distinguished by their size, carrying a larger cross-section of water than most water-supply aqueducts. Roman aqueducts were used to transport water and were created in Ancient Rome. The 662-metre (2,172 ft) long steel Briare aqueduct carrying the Canal latéral à la Loire over the River Loire was built in 1896. It was ranked as the longest navigable aqueduct in the world for more than a century, until the Magdeburg Water Bridge in Germany took the title in the early 21st century.

King's Highway 58A, commonly referred to as Highway 58A, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. The short route serves to connect Highway 58 with Highway 140 and passes beneath the Welland Canal through the Townline Tunnel. The entire route is located within the city of Welland in the Regional Municipality of Niagara.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fens Waterways Link</span> Waterways project in eastern England

The Fens Waterways Link is a project to improve recreational boating opportunities in the counties of Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire, England. By a combination of improvements to existing waterways and the construction of new links a circular route between Lincoln, Peterborough, Ely and Boston is planned. The project is being organised by the Environment Agency and financed from the Regional Development Agency and the European Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Welland Canal Bridge 15</span> Bridge in Welland, Ontario

The Welland Canal Bridge 15 is a two-track Baltimore truss swing bridge located in the disused section of the Welland Canal within the city of Welland, Ontario. This section of canal is now known as the Welland Recreational Waterway. The bridge formerly carried the main line of the Canada Southern Railway (CASO) over the canal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capital Pathway</span> Bike and pedestrian pathway in Canada

The Capital Pathway, also known informally as the Bike Path, is a 220-kilometre (140 mi) recreational pathway interlinking many parks, waterways and sites in Ottawa, Ontario and Gatineau, Quebec. Most of the pathway is paved, and allows an almost continuous route through the National Capital Region.

References

  1. "2005-92 (City of Welland By-law)" (PDF). Retrieved 2007-11-18.
  2. "Welland Recreational Canal Corporation" . Retrieved 2007-11-18.
  3. "Welland Recreational Canal Master Plan" . Retrieved 2007-11-18.
  4. "Northern Reach Park Proposal". Bike Welland. Retrieved 2015-02-26.
  5. "WRCC budget approved." Allen Benner, The Tribune. Retrieved 2015-02-26.
  6. "WRCC website". Retrieved 2015-02-26.
  7. Reporter, Dave Johnson Tribune (2024-05-06). "Lock and Quay community to rise along Welland Recreational Canal". Welland Tribune. Retrieved 2024-06-20.

43°03′24″N79°13′50″W / 43.0568°N 79.23065°W / 43.0568; -79.23065