Think of the great cities of the world and the centrality of rivers and waterfronts to their history, natural aesthetic and quality of life.
Rome and the Tiber.
Paris and the Seine.
London and the Thames.
Civilization itself grew out of the Edenic “fertile crescent” in modern-day Iraq between the Tigris and Euphrates. Rivers are at the heart of great cities across the world.
What does this have to do with a small town like Bradford West Gwillimbury?
Well, our town’s eastern border starts at the Holland River. This time of year, as it thaws and we await the first buds of spring, it’s time we resurrect discussions about really optimizing this natural environmental asset.
The fact of the matter is the Holland River is an untapped resource we should harness to spur economic development, tourism and beautification of the eastern gateway to town.
When I managed Mayor Rob Keffer’s election campaign in 2014, one of his most popular policy proposals suggested an exciting way to improve this area of town. He pledged “to design an integrated bike trail, docks, parks, shops and other recreation offerings as our canals come to Bridge Street, with that area as the gateway focal point to town.”
As Keffer pointed out in his 2014 platform, “Bridge Street is the gateway not only to Bradford, but to Lake Simcoe from the Holland River. The town needs to spur investment in this area to beautify the entrance to town, create trails and promote economic growth centred around (new) docks, marina, restaurants and other tourist attractions.”
On any summer weekend, there are dozens of fishers and boaters enjoying the sunshine around a natural small bay that occurs at Bridge Street.
The nearby marina is an affordable place to launch your boat, with a short, scenic cruise up the river into Lake Simcoe itself.
In the winter, the river and Holland Marsh canals are fantastic places for snowmobiling and shinny.
This area should look as good as the Fairy Lake park does in Newmarket, and Bradford West Gwillimbury should work to maximize this natural asset so we can benefit from at least some of the lake-based tourism dollars that otherwise go to Georgina, Innisfil and Barrie.
But how can town council catalyze private-sector economic development, including new restaurants and improvements to the marina?
The best way for a municipality to revitalize an under-utilized area is to focus on what government can do to improve the public areas, to create a magnet that the private sector then sees as a business opportunity.
An obvious means to do this is by beautifying the public areas around the river and canals to create a place more people want to spend time, as Keffer suggested.
Indeed, an existing plan is already in place that would get such work started.
The town’s Trail System Master Plan proposes a crucial piece of the puzzle by outlining plans for a multi-use, 24,000-metre trail along the north canal, an investment the plan calls “a strategic tourism initiative in partnership with Simcoe County and other partners.”
Specifically, the plan proposes that “support facilities such as trail heads with modest floating docks should be provided as part of the trails system amenities.
A main trail head with parking and self-interpreting signage should be provided at Bridge Street’s entrance into the Bradford urban boundary … through the Holland Marsh and this pathway should connect to a system that utilizes the canal dykes where feasible and the exiting public road right-of-ways where the dykes are inaccessible or conflict with privately owned agricultural lands.”
Imagine how great this would look, and the opportunities it would provide for entrepreneurs and local farmers, and the fun that could be had for cyclists, hikers, boaters, fishers and more.
The crucial question, however, is how to fund it.
The cost of trails this size varies based on the materials used, but it could be well into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, a significant strain on our municipal budget. The plan calls for partnerships for a reason.
The provincial government has axed cycling and related funding programs by cutting efforts to fight climate change, but delivering targeted funding to revitalize and optimize this area of town should be a strategic priority of our MPP Caroline Mulroney, who herself recently bought a cottage on Lake Simcoe because she recognizes the beauty of this part of Ontario.
The vision exists. Now we just need to find the funding.
Jonathan Scott is a public affairs consultant and writer.
