The Town of View Royal is excited about the Capital Regional District’s E&N Rail Trail project, but with a new partner coming in, it’s even more special.
The Greater Victoria School District has joined the party, allowing a new connector pathway to link the rear of Shoreline Community Middle School off Shoreline Drive in View Royal with the main trail coming off the railway trestle over Island Highway, and Portage Park. The project, on school district land, is being done in conjunction with restoration work on the Craigflower Pump Station that sits between the school and the trestle.
“Once the E&N Trail is (completed), it’s a major route for kids from portions of View Royal and the First Nations, as well, to get to school,” said View Royal Coun. John Rogers.
One of the interesting things about the Shoreline Trail is its connection to history, he added. On an old map from 1860, a dotted line shows a pathway called the Portage Trail connecting the Gorge Waterway to the Esquimalt Harbour.
Shoreline principal Nadine Naughton is excited about the future of the pathway.
“I think we see the value both for our school and the greater community,” she said. “This pathway allows our community to have a greater connection to our school.”
She said the idea to link the E&N Trail with the school was revisited after being initially rejected.
“We had to make some compromises on things like the height of the fence and who was going to maintain the trail. I think it was a matter of some open communication.”
The trail will become part of the school’s physical activity program, she said, and will tie in with use of the school field. The project is expected to be completed sometime in late March.