Greenbelt Trail Rehabilitation - Boardwalks and Footbridges

Greenbelt Trail Rehabilitation – Boardwalks and Footbridges

 

The NCC is planning the rehabilitation of 33 boardwalks and footbridges within the Greenbelt trail network. The Greenbelt comprises 20,000 hectares of green space, mostly owned by the NCC. The Greenbelt features a trail network of over 150 kilometres of trails. The scope of the project is to rehabilitate boardwalks that have reached the end of their life cycles. As part of the rehabilitation work, some boardwalks will be slightly modified to allow for better accessibility for wheelchairs.

The boardwalks are used in areas that are seasonally wet and are constructed from untreated lumber. The boardwalks degrade over time, eventually requiring full rehabilitation. Boardwalks selected to be rehabilitated in this project scope have significant structural faults as a result of decay, and pose a health and safety concern to members of the public who use the trails.

Boardwalks are generally used in environmentally sensitive areas such as wetlands and thus work will be strictly conducted within the existing 3 m wide trail right-of-way. The existing boardwalk footprints will be maintained with slight adjustments in some cases to allow for improved accessibility. Minimal vegetation clearing and disturbance will be needed. Regular trail maintenance occurs within this footprint, and removal of vegetation will be restricted to grasses and invasive shrubs that border some boardwalks. As a result, there will be minimal impact to sensitive flora and fauna in the surrounding environment.

The NCC is working alongside Environment and Climate Change Canada and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada to ensure appropriate mitigation measures are implemented to avoid impacting the sensitive flora and fauna in the surrounding environment.

The rehabilitation project will span from 2022 to 2024, following appropriate timing windows for protected species and species at risk. Sections of the pathways will be inaccessible to the public during the rehabilitation work.

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Latest update

November 25, 2022-The assessment decision statement has been issued to the proponent.

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Key documents

Key documents
Document Number Document Title File Date
2 Notice of Determination - November 25, 2022
1 Greenbelt Trail Rehabilitation - Boardwalks and Footbridges - April 8, 2022

Contacts

National Capital Commission
Environmental Assessment
40 Elgin Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5A8
Email: IA-EI@ncc-ccn.ca


  • Location

    • Greenbelt Trails - Boardwalks and Footbridges (Ontario)

  • Nature of Activity

    • Maintenance activities (fences, walls)

  • Assessment Status

    Completed

  • Start Date

    2022-04-08

  • Proponent

    National Capital Commission

  • Authorities

    • National Capital Commission

  • Assessment Type

    Project on federal lands

  • Reference Number

    83526
Disclaimer

This map is for illustrative purposes. The markers represent the approximate locations based on available data. More than one marker may be identified for a given assessment.

 

Nearby assessments

...within 200 kilometres
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