Next chapter for St. Thomas Elevated Park as it joins forces with Railworks Coalition

Canada’s only Elevated Park is joining forces with other railway entities in St. Thomas.

Seven years after the park opened on the former Michigan Central Rail Bridge, volunteers say it’s time for the next chapter and new leadership.

Those behind the park have joined forces with the Railworks Coalition to help collaborate and grow.

“We have a board structure and management and a bigger group of volunteers,” said Mat Janes, president of On Track St. Thomas, who manage the park.

“Up to this point, it's been a small number of us that have been doing all the work. We hope to take advantage of Railworks standing in the community to bring some more people into the project as well.”

The Railworks Coalition believes this is the natural next step, to unite all rail entities.

“When this was all envisioned many years ago, it was to bring together all the rail, heritage and rail assets within St. Thomas and surrounding communities,” said Scott Sleightholm, president of Railworks Coalition.

“Up until now, we have the Elgin County Railway Museum, CASO Station and BX Tower. When we were presented with the opportunity to bring in the Elevated Park, into the assets, I think it was a natural next step.”

The park, which opened in 2017, recently received a boost from a local business.

Entegrus has donated $10,000 to support enhancements.

“What we're going to do is continue our tree planting program to the west of the bridge,” said Janes.

“We call it the Arboretum Line because it's going to be all native trees identified. We're going to use it as an educational opportunity for people to learn about native trees. Then we'll also use it (the donation) for other improvements on the bridge, such as repairing the light sculpture.”

It’s a partnership both parties believe will enable them to provide opportunities to attract new visitors, supporters, solidify the park’s impact on the region.

“We've been expanding events at the CASO Station, the Elgin County Railway Museum, we can move to maybe bring back some more events and some different events over on the Elevated Park as well,” said Sleightholm.

“We want to continue to push the rail heritage and the rail assets in St. Thomas-Elgin community.”