August 27, 2009
Trail name honours military's contributions to community
By Trevor Suffield
Canstar Community News
Aug. 27, 2009
The path of the Yellow Ribbon Greenway Trail will stretch from Hamilton Avenue to Polo Park and should be completed by 2011.
The pedestrian pathway that will connect west Winnipeg to the area near Polo Park Shopping Centre finally has a name.
The Yellow Ribbon Greenway Trail, previously dubbed the Silver Avenue Trail, will serve as a tribute to CFB 17 Wing Winnipeg in St. James. City officials chose the name following a series of public consultations.
St. Charles Coun. Grant Nordman, whose ward includes part of the trail, said the new name is intended to recognize the contributions that members of the Canadian military have made to the city. The base has been part of the community for 87 years.
“A lot of the people who live in our area are attached to the military, either as soldiers and airmen themselves, or as civilian employees,” Nordman said.
“We just think it’s such a large portion of our community that it was the right thing to do.”
The base is one of the country’s largest military establishments. Approximately 700 residents live on the base while more than 3,000 military personnel work on it.
Don Brennan, executive director of the Military Family Resource Centre, said the pathway’s new name was an appropriate choice.
“The yellow ribbon has a great significance and is a powerful symbol that recognizes the sacrifices of the soldiers overseas and the spouses and military resource centres back home,” Brennan said.
“The reaction has been very positive from the staff and the community people I’ve talked to. It’s just a great idea.”
The pathway will eventually connect the Sturgeon Creek area to Polo Park and is being built in three phases.
The first phase of the project will cost $375,000. Approximately $200,000 in funding was approved by members of the Assiniboia community committee with the remaining funds coming from the city’s active transportation fund.
Once completed, the pathway is expected to be approximately 7 km long and 3.5 metres wide and will accommodate cyclists and pedestrians.
The first phase of the pathway, which stretches from Hamilton Avenue to Sturgeon Road, is expected to be completed in the next few weeks.
St. James-Brooklands Coun. Scott Fielding, whose ward includes part of the trail, said the lack of an active transportation route in St. James has been one of the most common concerns he has heard from area residents.
“Since being elected it’s one of those issues that I always get phone calls on,” said Fielding, adding that the pathway will make it easier for commuters to get downtown.
The second phase of the pathway, which Fielding said is expected to cost between $350,000 and $500,000, will extend the trail past Moray Street.
“And then the next phase will go kind of across where the military lands are by the golf course (Assiniboine Golf Course), and then to St. Matthews,” he said.
Fielding said city officials are planning to redevelop the area near St. Matthews Avenue to help enhance the area and ease traffic congestion near Polo Park.
“We view St. Matthews as a solution to that, and as such I will be ensuring that we have some sort of combined pathway so basically you can get from one end of St. James to the other.”
Signage for the pathway is still being worked on but should be completed in the next couple of weeks, Fielding added.
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