The Ward to Downtown Pedestrian Bridge and Trail will create a safe and attractive new route across the Speed River for people walking or cycling between the Guelph urban core and the historic St. Patrick’s Ward neighbourhood, which is now experiencing intensive residential redevelopment. The cantilevered box girder bridge will have a solid north side, an open-weave cable mesh south side, and a long steel bench that provides a place to enjoy the heritage industrial and parkland views to the south. The new pedestrian bridge’s extensive use of weathering steel complements the 19th-century Guelph Junction Railway Bridge, which crosses the Speed River alongside it.
A paved entry plaza creates a gathering area connected to the River Walk, bridge, and local trails. The project’s landscape is designed to improve the habitat of what is now a degraded riparian area through an increase in the diversity of tree cover, and perennial and shrub plantings.