Support for renovations to the riverfront boardwalk and trail by the Chocolate River Station.
Riverview Town Council has awarded a tender to Signature Landscaping Ltd for $537,752.14 plus HST to complete the work.
CAO Colin Smith says necessary trail upgrades were first identified back in 2019, “With the transition of the property at Chocolate River Station to a private developer, and a number of plans being considered, we always ended up deferring it to find out whether the new construction would happen? What would the changes be? So we’ve been maintaining those for a few years, but obviously, it’s at the point where we need to restore them. Yes, this is substantially higher than what we had planned or hoped. But the reality is that it is an investment we need to make to make sure that the Boardwalk is safe and usable.”
Councillor John Coughlan says this project is long overdue, “That area really needs that upgrade, and the musical action which we had this summer, plus they’re going to come our way down around that area, is just going to enhance it greatly. And I’d like to see another look at getting some research on Riverfront Park, park to the walkway too. That would be something we could look at too, later on. But I highly support this initiative.
Councillor Richard Blackstock agreed but also said the cost jumped out at him. “It’s an expensive boardwalk, but it is a focal point of the town. It’s an important, important section, and I think investing in it is a good idea.”
Town Councillors voted unanimously in favour of the upgrades.
Mayor Andrew Leblanc was concerned about the timeline. When is the start date on that? Is it before? After? Light up Riverview before?”
Upgrades are expected to begin this fall and be done by early 2026.
That will be during the annual Light Up Riverview event, “That’s gonna hurt,” Mayor LeBlanc responded.
