By Staff
May 19th, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
It was a great idea – and it looks as if it is actually going to get off the ground.
St. Luke’s Anglican church, built on land that the British gave to Joseph Brant for his service.
If you stand on Elgin Avenue and look to the north you will see St. Luke’s Anglican church.
Turn around and look south to the lake – and there is a clear path (well almost clear) pathway to the lake.
The church and the land were part of the Brant land grant that was deeded by the Brant family.
Over time, developments took place and the strip of land to the lake got crowded by residential development.
The people at St. Likes decided that it was time to make that pathway more accessible to the public and they took their thought to ward 2 Councillor Lisa Kearns.
She loved the idea, took it to the planning department – they quickly pointed out that there was a problem with clear public access – there was a roadway cutting across the possible path that led to a city-owned parking lot.
Done properly it will be a really nice addition to a strip of land that has never been used. Kudos to St. Luke’s for the initiative.
They came up with a solution that City Council agreed with – approved it – and it goes to Council later this week
Authorize the Executive Director of Environment, Infrastructure and Community
Services to collaborate with St. Luke’s Church on the feasibility of a new publicly accessible walkway from Elgin Street to Lakeshore.
St. Luke’s Anglican Church is located on the north side of Elgin Street between Nelson Avenue and Burlington Street in downtown Burlington. Directly across from the church, is a long narrow stretch of land that is owned in part by the City and the Church.
Since the original construction of the church in 1834, this long stretch of land that extends from the south side of Elgin Street to Lakeshore Road has provided an uninterrupted view to Lake Ontario
The Church has approached the ward Councillor and City staff to see if there is an interest in working together to build an accessible public walkway from Elgin to Lakeshore, which would span across lands owned by both the City and the Church. The lands owned by the Church are referred to as “Church Avenue”.
The concept was sound; however, one of the biggest challenges with this idea is that the city-owned lands to the north currently support the parking lot driveway entrance into Lot #10. The driveway is a physical barrier to safe pedestrian movement through Church Avenue.
Joseph Brant will be very pleased.
Since the City owns the lands in the former Hydro/Rail Corridor between Church Avenue and Nelson Avenue, it is possible to relocate the parking lot #10 driveway entrance to Nelson Avenue and eliminate all vehicular traffic on Church Avenue. This would free up the landscape for pedestrian-only movement and use of the space.
After some initial meetings, staff feel that this is a great opportunity to explore and would like Council’s support and direction to proceed further with the proposal.
Council did just that last week. Later this week, we can expect Council to approve it – and in the fullness of time, there will be a pleasant pathway from Elgin to the lake.
Joseph Brant will be pleased.
I think that this is a wonderful idea and congratulations to all those involved – St. Luke’s and City Council. I would respectfully request, however, that before the church puts any funds into this venture – building “an accessible public walkway from Elgin to Lakeshore” that they might first ensure that their ramp into the church for those wishing to attend service is both truly “accessible” and ODA compliant.
On Friday May 19th, my wife (Martha) was unable to attend the funeral service for her brother because her wheelchair (standard design for one with no mobility) could not negotiate the two 90 degree turns and the steep angle of incline of the access ramp. Although she no longer attends service due to her disability, St. Luke’s has been central to her family (the Bells) and mine (the Smiths and the Blairs) for generations. She is the last of her siblings and needed to be there.