When I lived in Taichung, I was surprised one morning when I looked out my window and saw a very large mountain range. We’d moved there a few months earlier but the mountains had been engulfed in fog and smog so this was my first look. The central mountain range runs down the spine of Taiwan but in the six years I lived in Taichung, I only saw the mountains about ten times. And that’s a shame. Taiwan in the late 80’s and early 90’s was growing like crazy and pollution was becoming a real big issue.
When we moved to Kitchener Waterloo more than a decade ago, I was surprised many months later when I found out that we have a large river running through (past) our cities. Most cities are built in such a way that the river runs through the center of town (Galt) or the town is built beside the river (Hespeler). But the city centers of Kitchener Waterloo are far removed from the Grand.
We can’t change that.
But wouldn’t it be great if we had a park, a large park with trails that was on the Grand.
For more than 15 years, the City of Kitchener has had plans for a big park along the Grand River connected to a series of smaller parks by a river-side trail.
A parks master plan filed with the city last year called for a “signature” park along the river connected to waterfront trails and recommended the city start buying up flood plain lands in key areas.
Heritage Park could be a 600-acre parcel of land along the Grand River. It could be the focal point for the Walter Bean Grand River Trail (once completed).
