Elevated Park bridges St. Thomas's past and present

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ST. THOMAS – It’s an old railway bridge that towers about 29 metres above Kettle Creek Valley in St. Thomas’s west end.

But unlike decades past, when as many as 50 freight and passenger locomotives would rumble across the former Michigan Central Railroad Kettle Creek Bridge, it’s foot and bicycle traffic that now crosses the roughly 275-metre span at the appropriately renamed Elevated Park.

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For those who have never been to the Railway City, this former overpass bridges St. Thomas’s historical connection to Canada’s railroad historical industry, transforming the span into Canada’s first – and only – elevated park.

Matt Janes, a founding member of the committee that initiated Elevated Park, called the space a “one-of-a-kind attraction.”

“It’s an experience (where) you walk out there and you’ve got this view, and you can just take it all in,” Janes said. “If you want something unique, that’s the place to go.”

The east entrance to Elevated Park begins at the quiet corner of King and Centre streets, where a pathway between trees and lush plants leads visitors towards the old train bridge. Visitors are greeted along the path by a portable free library, some seating and an occasional art piece before guests arrive at the overpass.

When you reach the opening, you’re on top of the bridge. The gravel pathway transitions to a boardwalk that reveals stunning views at a point above the surrounding area. It soon becomes apparent why it’s named Elevated Park.

Grass, benches, art installations and plaques are strewn thoughtfully throughout Elevated Park, while any signs it used to be a raised railway crossing are gone, save for the worn steel railings and five small platforms jutting out intermittently along the former bridge behind fencing.

From the top, there’s a sense of calm, with just the faint sound of traffic flowing along Sunset Drive below.

“What made it unique was the kind of the views that people in St Thomas can get,” Janes said. “We don’t have a lot of hills in St Thomas, but when you’re out over the Kettle Creek Valley, you get some beautiful views all times of year.”

The committee to initiate the transition from former railway bridge to recreation area began in 2012, Janes said. In 2013, the bridge, and an approximate four-kilometre corridor west of what is now Elevated Park, was purchased by the group after which “some serious planning and fundraising” was launched to get the park off the ground.

Four years later, the first section of Elevated Park opened and, in 2019, the entirety of the bridge was available for public use.

Janes said the uniqueness of Elevated Park has drawn considerable interest from outside of St. Thomas, citing a recent example when he was contacted by a Chinese language television station based in Toronto and directed towards Chinese tourists in Canada.

The bridge that became Elevated Park was built in 1930, but a previous span was constructed as early as 1872, Janes said. Elevated Park, he added, is the “third version of the bridge that’s been on that site.”

Although trains haven’t passed along the former line for about two decades, Janes noted the importance of preserving St. Thomas’ status as the Railway city.

“The railway doesn’t run there anymore, but we’ve saved the assets,” said Janes, who is also a board member of the Railworks Coalition, an umbrella organization for the railway heritage assets in St. Thomas that joined with Elevated Park earlier this year.

Another railway asset – one situated on the same former railway track as the park – is the Canadian Southern Station, a train station built in the 1870s that has been restored and also been put “to modern uses,” Janes noted.

“You are preserving the history, but you’re also kind of building up the local community and the local economy, and those types of things, by preserving and repurposing these assets. . . . It’s a connection to the past, but it’s also a way to keep the city vibrant and growing as well.”

The four-kilometre passage west of Elevated Park, which is a part of the Trans Canada Trail, stretches into a rural area that is also being revived Janes said.

“We’re doing things like planting native trees and putting benches along the trail further west of the city, just to encourage people to get that little bit more hike or bike,” he said.

Janes said the organization owns the land at the bottom of the bridge and hopes to develop that area in the future as well.

“We’d like to see something kind of down there at some point to kind of connect people from the top and the bottom,” Janes said. “As things come up, we’re always open to new ideas and how to how to develop (Elevated Park) further.”

bwilliams@postmedia.com

@BrianWatLFPress

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