Skip to content

Oak St. gets badly needed cleanup

'I would see these old, dead elm trees and in the last week or so we've noticed some needles start to appear and a piece of a tent'
20201016 oak at main clean-up rc
Crews clean up the intersection of Main St. E. and Oak St. Richard Coffin/CKAT.

A high profile vacant portion of city land on the cusp of downtown that had become an eyesore has been cleaned up. 

Councillor Bill Vrebosch told CKAT News that Thursday, city crews were reclaiming the piece of land at the very end of Oak Street, as it turns on to Main East. 

"I would see these old, dead elm trees and in the last week or so we've noticed some needles start to appear and a piece of a tent.  The city has now moved in and they're cleaning the whole lot up and it's going to look decent," he says. 

"It'll go well with the reclamation of Chippewa Creek and the new bridge that's going to go in with the Conservation Authority,” Vrebosch added.

See: Kinsmen Trail link across Chippewa Creek to get a new pedestrian bridge

It could turn into a nice entrance to the downtown. The Conservation is reestablishing the Kinsmen Trail link across the creek with a new pedestrian bridge that will give access to the waterfront. "The new pedestrian bridge will provide a significant enhancement to the City’s active transportation network,”  said Dave Mendicino, Authority Chair. 

That project will be completed by late next summer. 

Vrebosch says the whole area should have a really nice park-like setting.