The stalled Riverside Drive Vista Improvement Project has cleared another legal hurdle.
Riverside Neighbourhood Inc. has been in a legal battle with the City of Windsor for 2 years, preventing any implementation of the project. The project, which will cost over $35 million, includes replacing sewers and watermains, as well as adding crosswalks, textured pavement, and bike lanes.
While the project has encountered legal opposition in the east end, it encompasses 16km of Riverside Drive in total.
Last year a divisional court refused Riverside Neighbourhood Inc’s request for a judicial review. This judgement was appealed by Riverside Neighbourhood, however the Ontario Court of Appeals dismissed the application for appeal yesterday.
While the project no longer faces legal obstacles, it still faces problems with funding. Since it is such a large project, it will be completed in many steps over many years, and the stalls caused by the legal challenges may have prevented the project from receiving provincial and federal infrastructure funding.
This is great news… the bit about missing out on funding is the worst part, though. Hopefully there will be future opportunities for funding, and hopefully the city seeks them out and takes advantage of them!
I hope it won’t be forgotten as well.