Long-awaited leg of Saint John Harbour Passage opens to public
Goal is to see more family spaces in the city, Mayor Donna Reardon says
A new strip of Saint John's Harbour Passage along the waterfront opened to the public on Thursday to excited reactions from both city officials and some residents in the area.
"We've been waiting for this for a long time," said Saint John Mayor Donna Reardon. "It's all part of the vision of Harbour Passage."
Harbour Passage already connected the west side and north ends of the city to the uptown, giving walkers and cyclists a path around Saint John Harbour. The newest section heads in the other direction through an area being developed as Fundy Quay.
Reardon said the extension is part of the plan to keep the waterfront open for public use.
"And that's important because we live on the water and we want to make sure that we still have that access to the waterfront."
The area of the extension, a former coast guard site, has been closed to the public for about three years, but people were on the trail and taking in the waterfront views mere minutes after it opened on Thursday.
The ribbon-cutting was attended by the mayor, city councillors and city staff and representatives of the Fundy Harbour Group, who are behind a private development project on the same site, which is currently under construction.
Ihtoli-maqahamok, meaning "the gathering space" in the Wolastoqey language, a revitalized public space on the trail a short walk away, opened in July.
Couple Les and Wendy Duggan, residents of the city's uptown for six years, happened to be passing by and were surprised seeing it finally open to the public.
"We were just out for a walk on the Harbour Passage and we've been kind of cursing the fact that it hasn't been open for this whole summer and early fall season," Wendy said.
The couple walk the passage every day. Les says the opening will make a huge impact on the lives of local residents.
"This area used to be part of a coast guard site, which wasn't even open to the public anyway," said Les.
"So to have this open and be able to take advantage of the waterfront. ... It's very exciting to us because it's an amazing waterfront, but there wasn't much access to it for the longest time."
Creating more public spaces
Reardon said the city is working to create more public and green spaces.
"A space where they can congregate, meet their friends, just to have that community space that has amenities for citizens that are between eight and 80," she said.
"So you'll see seating here. You'll see little things you can climb on here. You've got a connection over with Ihtoli-maqahamok, which has the splash pad in it. So we're trying to create spaces that families can enjoy."
She also said that the Harbour Passage's continued expansion advances the city's goals of bringing more active transportation spaces for residents, saying the goal is to have Saint John amenities connected in ways that are accessible by walking, cycling or transit.
Other parts of the passage are still in the works. A piece of the project, called the Cove, was announced early this year. Reardon said there is still a significant amount of work to do on the trail.
"Because we still want to connect it to Rockwood Park," she said of the 2,200-acre park, with lakes, trails, caves and a golf course, within city limits.
"Because at the end of the day, there's no point in having a park that you can cycle in that you have to drive to. So you want to be able to cycle to the park."
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