Public engagement kicks off

The public consultation process for Kelly’s Brook Shared-Use Path is now underway. A variety of engagement tools will be used to consult with residents and the city’s advisory committees until February 21.

Public Workshops

Sign up for one of our live virtual public workshops on Tuesday afternoon, February 16 or Thursday evening, February 18 to learn more about this project and share your ideas on what will make this pathway user-friendly for all.

Survey

Complete the online survey here.

Focus group option

If you are a current or potential trail user and are interested in helping the project team prepare for the public workshops please email engage@stjohns.ca with your name, street address, number of people in your household, age, and primary concern related to Kelly's Brook Shared-Use Path. The focus group session will take place Wednesday, February 10 at 6 p.m. Deadline to apply is Friday, February 5. The City thanks all those interested, however only 10 participants can be selected.

For more information or to share your ideas over the phone, please contact Access St. John’s by calling 311 or 709-754-CITY (2489).

Update on river section of Trail

Since announcing plans for the Kelly’s Brook Shared-Use Path, staff and council have been listening closely to public feedback and the project team has collected important data in the area of the trail to the rear of Winter Avenue. This area overlaps with the planned Rennies River flood mitigation berm. Based on the impacts a combined berm and widened trail would have in this segment, Council has revised the plan for this project and will no longer pursue a path alignment that follows the river’s edge between King’s Bridge Road and Portugal Cove Road. Given that the path behind St. Pat's Ball Park along Kelly's Brook between Rennies Mill Road and Carpasian Road is also not feasible, staff concluded that the Kelly’s Brook Shared-Use Path will need to follow a roadside alignment east of Carpasian Road. This new routing comes with significant obstacles, such as utility poles, on-street parking or travel lane reductions, and intersection alignments. Because of these obstacles, engaging with property owners and residents along these segments of Empire Avenue is critical to moving this plan forward.

The Kelly’s Brook Shared-Use Path project is just one of several catalyst and backbone projects identified in the Bike St. John’s Master Plan. Changes to the Rennies River Trail and Virginia River Trail, for example, are recommended in the plan but these trails are not currently under consideration and are not part of the Kelly’s Brook Shared-Use Path. Council is committed to focusing on accessibility for the full length of the project.