Port Hawkesbury trail system gets $3M in government funding

All three levels of government are pitching in to create seven kilometres of pathways in Port Hawkesbury, N.S.

The federal government will spend about $1.2 million, the province will contribute $1 million and the town of Port Hawkesbury will spend $800,000 on the project.

The new trails will add pathways connected to the waterfront, MacQuarrie Drive, Reeves Street, the Nova Scotia Blue Route connection at Tamarac Drive and an eastern town connector.

"Providing Nova Scotians with a safer, more accessible connection to sustainable methods of transport can improve health and cuts down on the need to use vehicles," Premier Iain Rankin said at a news conference in Port Hawkesbury Friday morning.

"All of that improves the quality of life in our communities and contributes to our goal of hitting our net-zero emissions target by or before 2050."

The funding will complete the town's active transportation network and connect residential areas with the Nova Scotia Community College campus, recreational facilities and retail shops, the province said in a news release.

Port Hawkesbury Mayor Brenda Chisholm-Beaton said the trails will improve the town in "wonderful ways."

"We know that as our community becomes more active, it will become healthier, too. Once these seven kilometres of connectors are completed, our town becomes better because it will be more walkable, more bikeable and more accessible for people of all ages and all abilities."

Construction is expected to get underway this summer. The project will take about five years to complete.

Students at the Nova Scotia Community College campus in Port Hawkesbury held a march in 2017 to draw attention to the unsafe conditions for students who walk along a busy, four-lane highway without sidewalks to get to school from downtown.

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