Saint John Harbour Passage gets $1.5M for trail expansion

The Harbour Passage trails in Saint John, N.B., will be longer thanks to a big influx of cash from federal and municipal governments.

According to a Tuesday news release from the City of Saint John, the Harbour Passage will receive nearly $1.5 million to add a new section referred to as the “Cove,” which will offer a shorter route from the city’s east and lower west sides.

“Harbour Passage currently offers residents and visitors a series of interconnected shoreline trails, and some fantastic views of our port,” said Mayor Donna Reardon in the release. “The Cove expansion will provide safe, quick connectivity from the Uptown area to the lower West side allowing pedestrians, cyclists and users of all forms of active transportation to more easily move around our city.”

Ottawa will pay $813,540 for the expansion and Saint John will contribute $681,460.

“It is game changing for not only the extension of the Harbour Passage, but for the extension to the lower west side,” says Saint John City Councillor David Hickey.

The extension will see Harbour Passage stretch past the Reversing Falls down to a mainly off-street trail by Riverview Avenue to a new area known as the “Cove.”

“I think this one is a bit more unique than most other connections because this is really about connecting different neighbourhoods,” Hickey says, comparing this extension of the Harbour Passage to past ones. “Lower west side has been so isolated from pedestrian, biking, or any form of active transportation level so this really offers a connection that could bring you directly to the Uptown from Lower west.”

Hickey says work on the extension will begin this construction season, with hopes to be completed by the end of the year. The councillor also notes the extension of Harbour Passage added last year to Tin Can Beach will be completed in early 2024.

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