Windsor, Ontario, looks beyond a rail yard for the landing spot of a crossing

The first design of the wildlife crossing had one of the ends finishing at a fenced-in rail yard.

With the first proposal of one end of a wildlife crossing over Ojibway Parkway in Windsor, Ontario, looking more like a zoo, city officials have agreed to take another look at the structure’s footprint.

Original plans had the wildlife crossing ending at a fenced-in railyard used by Essex Terminal Railway, but earlier this week the Windsor City Council decided to hire a consultant to execute another environmental assessment at a cost of $150,000. The goal is to extend the wildlife crossing over the railyard, and with the hopes of Windsor getting a national park on the west side a more attractive end game was necessary. In addition, the first plan did not go over well with the public.

Windsor has already spent $250,000 on the first environmental assessment, but there is $1.5 million available in seed money for a new wildlife crossing provided by the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority as part of its Community Benefits Plan related to the Gordie Howe International Bridge project.   

A number of alternative landing areas for the wildlife crossing have been reviewed to determine the best solution. The new environmental assessment will help make a revised plan clearer.

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