Extension Plan by Niagara Region Threatens a Provincially Significant Wetland/Woodland Area
Please Lend Your Name to the Petition Below Before Saving Natural Heritage Lands in This Area is Too Late!
Posted April 25th, 2024 on Niagara At Large
Niagara citizens have been out in front of Niagara’s regional headquarters and local municipal headquarters time and time again urging our elected leaders to protect and preserve what is left of our natural heritage. file photo by Doug Draper
A Brief Foreword by Niagara At Large reporter/publisher Doug Draper – Niagara Regional Council – yes the same Niagara Regional Council that declared a ‘Climate Emergency’ a few years ago – is now planning to expand Merritt Road in the Thoorld, Pelham, Welland area and potentially destroy provincially significant wetlands we need to preserve the biodiversityso important to the survival of all life on this earth and to combat climate change.
I am beginning to wonder if the last refuge of municipal council and staff who want to go on with business as usually is to declare a Climate Emergency.
A Petition has been started by Niagara resident Jason Lovejoy to stop this environmental vandalism in the Thorold, Pelham, Welland area. Please read it and lending your name to it if you can.
A Petition Started by Jason Lovejoy
Attention Niagara Residents, Especially, Residents of Thorold, Pelham and Welland
Why this petition matters
The Niagara Region plans to spend $52M to modify a 3km section of Merritt Road, including a new 800m extension through a Provincially Significant Wetland/Woodland, that is supposed to be protected from development and alteration, and along Rice Rd.
This Petition is to Stop the Merrit Road Expansion, and save the Provincially Significant Wetlands & Woodlands (PSW&W)!
The wetlands/woodlands along Merritt Road are providing valuable climate change mitigation and flood management functions at no cost to local residents! The land around Merritt Road contains a sensitive flood plain which cannot be fragmented any further without increasing the risk of impacting homes in the area. This development may also turn Merritt Road into a speedway, right next to the children’s playground, Merritt Meadows.
Please join us in telling the Region to save money and lower taxes while accommodating housing growth with improved public transit, proper watershed management, and better/cheaper roadwork alternatives.
Sign the PATH petition and/or learn more at https://www.pelhampath.ca/
We, the undersigned, petition the Regional Council of Niagara as follows:
1. To commit to protecting the Natural Environment System that the Region itself designated (Niagara Official Plan, June 2022) by permanently protecting the PSW&W of Singer’s Drain and Towpath Drain and not approving the proposed improvements to the undeveloped Merritt Road.
2. To reconsider alternatives i.e. improving / expanding existing transportation corridors east/west (Port Robinson Road, Quaker Road) and north/south (Cataract Road & Merrittville Highway).
3. To create a trail through this area for human use and to maintain connectivity between natural areas. This trail would connect the existing Steve Bauer Trail in Pelham through Thorold and Welland to the Welland Canal Trail System and could be included in a Niagara GeoPark system.
4. To ensure that all future studies of such projects must include a report on a realistic analysis of the climate crisis impact and determine an accurate valuation of the natural heritage and biodiversity of the study area.
5. To complete extensive studies of the blue salamander, unique crayfish, chimney swift and other fauna, as well as the various rare existing flora within the area of this proposed development, before this project receives Council approval.
6. To allocate the $52+ million (Preliminary Estimate) for this project to be redirected to improve public transit and fix the Region’s aging infrastructure, which is now estimated to cost some $2 billion.
Sign the Petition by Clicking on – https://www.change.org/p/stop-proposed-merrit-road-expansion?cs_tk=AqjTn6Lk7I_GMoxJMmYAAXicyyvNyQEABF8BvPLCLbBEvFQxh5JQc3JaTfw%3D&utm_campaign=6689e5c5521a4a75b19ff7be694ad983&utm_content=initial_v0_4_1&utm_medium=email&utm_source=petition_signer_receipt&utm_term=cs .
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