Charlottetown abandons waterfront boardwalk plan
Private property extends into the water where project was proposed
The City of Charlottetown is cancelling its request for federal infrastructure funding to connect the Victoria Park boardwalk to the one near the Culinary Institute.
The pathway would have followed the shoreline behind half a dozen homes on West Street, and several long-time residents raised concerns about the plan.
Mayor Philip Brown said the issue was complicated by the fact that the properties include water rights.
"The properties that lie along West Street, their properties extend out into the water, so it would have required the city negotiating with the property owners to acquire that property through purchase or through expropriation," said Brown.
"We discovered it would just be easier to leave it alone, because when you get into property rights extending into the water then there's a lot more legal issues."
Brown said he still hopes a proposal to reinforce the shoreline behind the West Street homes will receive federal funding.
It's one of several projects that the city has applied for through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program.
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With files from Nancy Russell