No early opening for Shannon Park’s Canada 150 Trail
Posted May 13, 2021 03:05:00 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A dutiful dog walker in Dartmouth this week made sure they were far from other pandemic pedestrians out for a little fresh air and exercise.
The walker was seen May 10 strolling alone around the trail and harbour lookout at Shannon Park – a site that doesn’t open for the season until June 1.
Although the Canada Lands Company path is currently blocked by a locked gate, the trail user and two dogs were spotted (from the MacKay Bridge roadway) at the lookout.
“While some of the property boundaries are not fenced due to the topography of the site, Canada Lands maintains access control to a large portion” of the area, Chris Millier, a spokesperson with the federal Crown corporation told HalifaxToday.ca recently.
“Unauthorized access to, or use of the property is not condoned,” he said via email.
Asked if the company would consider opening the trail earlier this spring, to give people an opportunity to use it while following health-and-safety protocols due to the coronavirus, Millier said the scheduled “operational season allows Canada Lands to undertake the required maintenance and manage the facility while it is open for public access.”
The Canada 150 Trail opened in 2017. At a little more than a kilometer in length, the trail loop is a walking and cycling path that includes harbour views, benches, signs for visitors and a parking lot nearby.
It opens in June and normally closes at the end of October.
A federal agency specializing in real estate, Canada Lands Company is the principal property owner at Shannon Park. The former military housing district is to be redeveloped during a multi-phase construction project.
Staff at Halifax Regional Municipality are considering a development agreement application, which has been filed with city hall by a consultant on behalf of Canada Lands.
Michael Lightstone is a freelance reporter living in Dartmouth
