WOODSTOCK, ON -- On a beautiful spring day, hundreds of Woodstock residents were taking advantage of a new walkway in the heart of the city.
"I've lived here my whole life, and never been across the dam," said one man in passing.
For the first time in over 40 years, the gates to the Gordon Pittock Dam are open to pedestrians and cyclists linking the north and south shores of the Pittock Reservoir.
The primary purpose of the dam is flood control, but after an agreement with the city of Woodstock, Ont. and some new fencing in place, the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) opened the padlocks Friday.
"We had an agreement with the city for people to use south side, but the north side has always been a paid entrance side," says Steve Sauder, of the UTCRA after taking some drone footage of the new path.
"People would come in from North for camping and boating. But now it's part of the expanded trail system which we hope will one day go right around Pittock reservoir."
The city purchased two parcels of land at a cost of $445,000 that were no longer essential from the UTRCA mandate.
Woodstock mayor Trevor Birch says those funds provided to UTRCA will help continue the stewardship of all the resources that people can enjoy through the watershed.
"We have a great education mandate with UTRCA," says Birch.
"We have extensive parks and trails and having this access will allow us to keep that education and eventually get trails right around the reservoir."
Like other green spaces in the city, access to the dam will be limited to daylight hours. It will be closed in the fall for installation of lights, and in the winter due to icy conditions.
"The city is fortunate to have natural right there," says Sauder.
"There are so many houses on north side now,that the dam is in the heart of the city. To be able to access both sides, it provides so much access to nature right at home."
And for a couple walking across seeing a new side of their city for the first time.
"It's so nice to be on the conservation side."
