Active Transportation
Active transportation is any form of human powered transportation. It is any trip made for the purposes of getting yourself, or others, to a particular destination, this includes to work, to school, to the store or to visit friends. Common examples of active transportation are walking, cycling, rollerblading, skateboarding and using a wheelchair or mobility device. Active Transportation is important for building a great place to live, work and play. In addition to being part of the City’s vision, active transportation offers important benefits including to health, equitable access, the environment and to economic development.
The Brock Trail
The Brock Trail is a network of multi use paths and recreational trails located throughout Brockville, providing a continuous trail running from the Mac Johnson Wildlife Area at the north boundary of the city all the way to the St. Lawrence River at the south end. The 11.5 kilometre trail network offers connection to the Railway Tunnel, St. Lawrence Park, Blockhouse Island and many other City facilities.
The Brock Trail is a mix of off road and road adjacent trails, and features a number of pedestrian bridges crossing the creek system running through Brockville. The majority of the trail is asphalt, but there are some interlocking brick and gravel segments, along with bridges with wood surfaces. All segments of the trail constructed since 2017 are built to a 3 metre wide standard with Accessibility compliant maximum slopes and cross slopes to ensure that mobility devices can be safely operated on the trail.
You can find even more information on our Parks and Trails page.
Active Construction
Brock to Perth
A complete rehabilitation of the Brock Trail from Brock Street to Perth Street is underway. The 550 metre segment has had the trail surface reconstructed and widened to 3 metres. The railway underpass has a drainage redesign to address previous ice buildup concerns.
Paving of this segment is complete. The final phase of construction, topsoil, and seeding will be completed Summer 2023.
Front to Central
A complete rebuild of the segment of trail between Front Avenue and Central Avenue is underway. The trail went through a redesign in this segment to create a less steep trail profile, allowing for safer and more accessible trail usage for all users. Parts of the trail were shifted to the east side of the creek to allow for better views of the natural landscape in this area. The new trail will feature access to a Ferguson Falls lookout on the east side of the creek.
Two new bridges have been installed in this segment. The final phase of this project (paving, topsoil and seeding) will be completed Summer 2023.
Brockville Railway Tunnel
Canada’s first railway tunnel first opened in 1860 and operated as part of the railway system through Brockville until 1982. In 2017 it was rehabilitated and reopened as a walking path. The Railway Tunnel is outfitted with a lighting system and sound system and features light shows set to an ever changing soundtrack. The tunnel is 500 metres long and connects to the Brock Trail and Blockhouse Island. The tunnel is fully accessible for mobility devices and strollers. Please walk your bikes through the tunnel.
You can learn more about the Railway Tunnel here.
Pedestrian Crossovers
Pedestrian crossovers are designated crosswalks with enhanced safety features to help pedestrians safely cross roads where there are no traffic lights. Pedestrian Crossovers are marked with signs stating “Stop for Pedestrians” as well as ladder crosswalks and triangular (“shark’s tooth”) stop bars. Drivers must stop for pedestrians and allow them to cross.
Brockville has 14 Pedestrian Crossovers located around the City, with the majority located at Brock Trail road crossings along with additional locations with high pedestrian crossing volumes or poor sight lines. One location (King Street West at Cedar Street) features overhead lights, and five locations feature flashing lightbars affixed to the “Stop for Pedestrians” signs. Locations and equipment used are determined using Ontario Traffic Manual design criteria and is based on the volume of traffic and road width.
A full list of Pedestrian Crossover locations can be found in .
Cycling
The City of Brockville recognizes in the Official Plan that bicycle and pedestrian trails and paths contribute to healthy communities and supports such sustainable modes of travel. The City encourages the development and enhancement of pedestrian and shared use of non-motorized trails and bicycle routes.
The Brock Trail allows for Cycling, and many segments of trail have been widened to 3 metres since 2017 to allow for cyclists and pedestrians to more safely share the trail. Note that cyclists must dismount and walk in three segments of trail:
- Brockville Railway Tunnel
- The entire walkway and boardwalk area around Blockhouse Island and Tunnel Bay
- The boardwalk area in front of the Boardwalk Condominium
The City of Brockville has two designated on road cycling facilities. There is a signed bike lane along the north side of King Street West running from Rivers Avenue to the western city limit. There are also signed Shared Line Markings also known as “Sharrows” located along Water Street. Cyclists are allowed to operate on city roadways and the Brock Trail. Children are permitted to ride bicycles on city sidewalks.
Brockville is part of the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail, a 3,600 kilometre cycling network with signed routes through 155 communities. The Waterfront Trail route through Brockville can be found here and more information about the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail can be found on their website.
Bicycle parking is provided throughout the downtown core to provide options for accessing the area by bike and encouraging cycle tourism. Bicycle parking locations can be found here.
The City of Brockville was designated as a Bicycle Friendly Community by the Share the Road Cycling Coalition in 2017. Ontario by Bike has a many bicycle friendly businesses to eat, visit and sleep listed within Brockville, and features Brockville in a number of cycling itineraries.
Regional Tourism Organization 9 Cycling Guide
Ontario by Bike Business Directory
Community Safety Zones and Crossing Guards
The City of Brockville designates Community Safety Zones around elementary schools to reduce speed limits to 40 kilometres per hour. There are 6 Community Safety Zones in Brockville, all of which are marked with the flashing signs at both ends. A full list of Community Safety Zone locations can be found in .
The City of Brockville uses Crossing Guards to assist with safely crossing streets around schools. There are crossing guards at the start and end of the school day at 18 locations in Brockville, at both road crossings and railway crossings.
Sidewalks and Walkways
Brockville maintains an existing sidewalk network of 110 kilometres of concrete sidewalk. Along with sidewalk there is also 2.4 kilometres of concrete walkways connecting sidewalks though block pathways, most of which are located in the north part of the City. Sidewalks go through an annual review process and repairs are made on an ongoing basis to ensure that sidewalks are maintained to provincial standards.
Winter maintenance of sidewalks is performed as per the City’s Winter Maintenance Policy and the Minimum Maintenance Standards for Municipal Highways. Click here for more information about our roads and maintenance..
Active Transportation Plan
The Active Transportation Plan provides a comprehensive list of existing assets and policies in place in Brockville. It establishes best practices for policy making and new construction of Active Transportation moving forward. It also makes recommendations about future locations for adding Active Transportation and Brock Trail assets to expand the existing network. The Active Transportation Plan identified a number of locations where there are gaps in the existing Active Transportation network, including streets with no sidewalk, sidewalks with dead ends, etc.
The City of Brockville is prioritizing fixing these infrastructure gaps as recommended in the plan.