While dignitaries delivered remarks overlooking Ramsey Lake on Friday morning, a steady stream of pedestrians were seen making their way down the Jim Gordon Boardwalk.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony officially reopened the boardwalk on Friday, which Science North CEO Ashley Larose described as a much-awaited moment by the community.
“The sentiment was, this is an incredibly important connector for our city, and we felt it,” she told Sudbury.com, adding that they received myriad questions about its reopening after the previous structure was closed last year due to reaching the end of its life after approximately 30 years.
The Science North stretch of the boardwalk originally opened on June 7, 1993.
“We worked to get this done as quickly as we could, and we wanted to make sure we took the opportunity to create the best dock we could, and the best connector we could,” she said. “It took time to create this and get it right to our specifications."
It’s like getting a new mattress and not realizing how bad the old one was, she said, noting that although the old floating dock served its purpose, it was getting rough around the edges near the end.
The floating dock is located at the south shore of Ramsey Lake next to Science North, and links with a longer boardwalk and path which winds along the shore through Bell Park.
During Friday’s ceremony, the walkway’s namesake, past mayor Jim Gordon, was in attendance to share some thoughts and cut the ribbon.
“It’s really important to me because it’s gone on for years and people love it, and I love it, so you might say I’m a bit selfish in that respect,” he told Sudbury.com with a chuckle. “This lake is beautiful, it’s got beautiful terrain, it’s well kept up by the municipality.”
Gordon led the political charge to get the boardwalk built, and it was later named in his honour in 2003.
During his public remarks, Gordon commended Science North for their work alongside the many people who made the boardwalk a reality.
The end product, he said, exceeded his expectations.
“I never could have expected this,” Gordon said. “This is a very professional and artistic walkway.”
The floating dock replacement cost approximately $775,000, the majority of which was funded by the provincial government, plus a $55,000 contribution from the Rainbow Routes Association.
The new dock incorporates space for the William Ramsey Boat Cruise, which Larose said should return “imminently” after being cancelled last season.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.