A project almost two years in the making has come to completion. The boardwalk along Gillies Lake by Lanny’s Chip Hut is finally done. The ground along that side of the lake was eroding, and so the MRCA and Wintergreen decided to do something about it. The $100, 000 project had some funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, and community support. People were able to buy boards for $50.
Chair of the Wintergreen Fund, Mike Doody, says a lot of people were buying boards in memory of a loved one, which he says is a really nice thing. The promenade and dock were put it not only to protect the land, but also to give safer access to the lake, and to protect the fish living in the area.
“The ground on this portion of Gillies Lake was beginning to erode,” explains Doody. “So we decided to come up with a plan to extend the boardwalk.”
Doody says it’s possible that this could lead into into more upgrades around the lake.
“Taking a look at a plan for the upgrading of Lakeshore Road. We’re hoping to, in the very near future, sit down with the city and engineering and see if we can come up with kind of an extra special plan.”
Doody says that may include a boardwalk and upgrading the street. The issue is that you have to walk along Lakeshore to get around the lake, and it can get dangerous.
“In the summer just about every weekend there is some kind of walk being held here,” says Doody “A lot of the walks that are being held, are being held with young people. Usually it’s a family affair, and it has been brought to our attention that some have felt that it’s not as safe as it possibly could be.”
The promenade was a joint effort between the MRCA, the Chamber, the Ontario Trillium Foundation, and Wintergreen. The Ontario Trillium Foundation pitched in $55,000 to the project. The ribbon for the project was cut during a ceremony on Wednesday.