City plans to build a new pedestrian bridge in the downtown area can move ahead, now that the province has dismissed an objection filed last year by a group of area residents who raised concerns about public consultation and environmental issues.
The concerns were raised by Residents for a Safe Speedvale Avenue (RSSA), which has continually objected to the bridge plan in favour of improvements to the nearby Speedvale Avenue bridge over the Speed River.
“With this decision having been made, the city may now proceed with the project, subject to any other permits or approvals required,” states a letter to the city from David Piccini, Minister of the Environment, Conservations and Parks.
“I am satisfied that the issues and concerns have been addressed by the work done to date by the proponent or will be addressed in future work that is required to be carried out,” adds an accompanying letter from Piccini to RSSA.
The residents group filed what’s known as a ‘bump up’ request with the ministry last summer, asking for additional public consultations, especially Indigenous consultations, and an added level of environmental review.
The ministry response letters are dated for June 30 but weren’t publicly released by city officials until Thursday.
Pedestrian bridge plans would see it connect Emma and Earl streets over the Speed River, about 200 metres downstream of Speedvale Avenue. It was identified in the 2022 and 2023 city budget at a cost of $2.53 million, but only funded at $500,000 due to the provincial appeal.
Several active transportation groups have publicly supported the idea, which is part of the city’s trails master plan, throughout the process to-date.
“The Emma to Earl bridge is a critical connection for people travelling by bike and on foot, particularly while the Speedvale Bridge is upgraded in 2026, and without which people would need to detour at least two kilometres to cross the Speed River,” Reg Russwurm, the city’s manager of design and construction, said in a news release. “Improving active transportation connections in Guelph is an important investment in sustainable transportation, and vital to the city’s commitment to (eliminate corporate greenhouse gas emissions) especially as we prepare to support the province’s mandated population growth targets.”
With a current population of about 140,000 people, Guelph is mandated to grow to 208,000 residents by 2051.
Now that the provincial process has been cleared, final design of the bridge can go ahead. It’s expected to be built in 2025.
The recent bump-up request was the second from RSSA regarding the bridge.
In October of 2020, the group raised similar worries about the project’s compliance with the Endangered Species Act and asked the province to demand increased public consultation, among other things.
That request was approved, requiring the city to conduct Indigenous community consultation related to treaty rights, provide details about the public consultation program including how feedback was considered, as well as provide details about how species at risk assessments were conducted with respect to bats and describing projected habitat impacts.
First approved by council in 2015, the bridge was initially estimated to cost $1.8 million.
Plans for the bridge came into being after council-of-the-day opted not to include cycling lanes as part road improvements along Speedvale Avenue between Manhattan Court and Woolwich Street, including bridge replacement over the Speed River.
