Construction starts on Phase 1 trails at former Bowmanville Zoo lands park

Construction has started on Phase 1 of a new trail network at a 13.7-hectare municipal park on the former Bowmanville Zoo lands in Bowmanville. Work began May 12, and the trails are expected to open later this summer.

For local walkers and cyclists, the project will add new public pathways in the area and is the first stage of the Bowmanville Park Master Plan for the site.

Phase 1 is expected to add about 700 metres of new pathways on the west side of the Soper Creek system. Plans include a main four-metre-wide asphalt trail for walking, cycling and “rolling,” along with several secondary crushed limestone trails branching off through the park.

Hydro One provided $80,000 in community benefit funding tied to its Durham Kawartha Power Line work, according to the municipal announcement.

The first phase also includes landscaping and restoration work. It includes planting hundreds of trees and shrubs, along with benches and decorative armour stone along the route.

Mayor Adrian Foster called the start of construction “the first step” in developing the park.

The Bowmanville Park Master Plan was developed with support from Valleys 2000 and consultation with the Clarington community.

Future phases will depend on funding and may include ecological restoration, gathering spaces, public art, educational amenities and connections to the regional trail system, the municipality said.