|
November
2002 Newsletter
Massive
Creek Re-Location Revealed
- 21
hectares to be cleared for new creek
-
recreational trail will be cut in 18 places
-
400
metres of Bruce Trail to be obliterated
-
27
terrestrial habitats to be damaged or destroyed
Recently
released documents show that much of the Red Hill Valley
OUTSIDE the route of the proposed expressway will be severely
damaged by the planned re-location of Red Hill Creek. The
City of Hamilton has now released consultant studies on
the construction of 7.6 kilometres of new creek. Only about
5% of this new creek will coincide with the present creek
bed. This creation (an appropriate word for this God-like
activity) will have major impacts on terrestrial ecosystems
as well as disrupting much of the valley's recreational
trail system.
The planned creek re-location is to begin at the foot of
the escarpment, about 50 metres upstream of the Bruce Trail
bridge. It will continue all the way to the QEW. The new
creek will only be in the same location as the current one
at the culverts under the TH&B and CNR railways, and
under King Street.
The
consultants report that the re-location of the creek will
require the clearing of 21 hectares of land, the majority
of it mature trees. This includes a 400 metre swath through
the high quality forest at the foot of the escarpment south
of King's Forest Golf Course, and a half dozen long stretches
between Greenhill Avenue and the CNR. In almost every valley
area where the expressway route misses a patch of mature
floodplain forests the new creek makes sure it gets cut
down.
City consultants admit that permanent loss of terrestrial
habitats will occur in 18 locations, with half of these
described as "significant habitat". The report
also says nine other terrestrial habitats will be damaged
but claims the extent of destruction will be reduced because
the creek will be located in "paleo channels"
(routes of the creek between 900 and 4500 years ago).
Recreational Trail Cut 18 times
The multi-use recreational trail system was installed in
1995 at a cost of over $1 million. It will be crossed by
the new creek 18 times. All of its current bridges will
have to be removed. A new trail alignment has not been identified.
In the words of one of the City's consultants: "The
Red Hill Valley Trail requires realignment for much of its
length mostly due to the Red Hill Creek realignment. The
ultimate location of the Red Hill Valley Trail, including
access points, will be determined as part of the Landscape
Management Plan" (not yet done). Impacts on the Bruce
Trail will also be severe, with one 400 metre stretch of
the main trail west of the current creek completely obliterated
by the re-located creek.
Flood
Zone
(see map at bottom of page)
Along
with re-locating the creek, the City plans call for frequent
flooding of two large areas. The plan is to control flooding
at the QEW by creating two large flood zones in the central
reaches of the creek. One of these will inundate a 600 metre
stretch of the valley between Rosedale Arena and the TH&B
culvert. It appears this will occur an average of four times
a year. The second flood zone will be upstream of Mt. Albion
Road on the Davis and Montgomery Creek tributaries. It will
extend over 650 metres up Davis Creek to Quigley Road and
be subject to flooding about six times a year. The impacts
on the vegetation in these areas are not described in the
reports.
The above makes clear why the City went to so much effort
and expenditure to prevent a federal environmental assessment
of the stream re-location. While the project still requires
approval under the Fisheries Act, without an environmental
assessment there is no requirement to protect the habitat
of anything other than fish. The interests of all other
species, including humans using the trail system, don't
have to be considered.
|
