Ganatchio Trail 3.51

The Ganatchio Trail is a bike trail in Windsor, Ontario, the second to be built in the city. Construction on the trail started upon the closure of Clairview Avenue. The trail currently extends over 5.3 km, and passes through several neighbourhoods, such as Riverside and Little River, and serves Sandpoint Beach and Stop 26 Beach and Park. It was the first major trail constructed, aside from the Riverfront Bike Trail, with extensions east towards Tecumseh built in stages. The trail has a posted speed limit of 20 km/h. One feature found only on the Riverfront Bike Trail and the Ganatchio Trail is that the trail is wide enough for two "lanes" each way, meaning two bicycles can ride abreast in each direction without worrying about a collision.The Ganatchio Trail and Little River Extension see a great deal of traffic in the summer, but nowhere near as much as the Riverfront Bike Trail. The Ganatchio Trail has special commemorative signs from its beginning (Wyandotte Street and Vernon Crescent) to its end (Windsor-Tecumseh border), along with a special roundabout/traffic circle where the Ganatchio intersects with the Little River Extension, with a commemorative sign depicting its length, map location, and a sign for the Lions Club International and Rotary International, who funded the trail's construction in 1996.The Ganatchio Trail was built in 1971, incorporating much of Clairview Street, a narrow and rarely used residential street, into its route. The road was sealed off at some parts, and rerouted or truncated at other intersecting streets. The trail runs along Clairview in the parts that were left intact, but many intersecting streets, such as Watson Avenue, were closed off, allowing only pedestrians and cyclists to go through. Clairview Avenue was also a boulevard from Watson to Genevieve Avenue. Its second carriageway was transformed into the bike trail, and a few parts were converted entirely into greenways with the trail. Clairview Street (with the Ganatchio Trail) also serves the Riverside Sportsman's Club (a fraternity similar to Lions Club International and Rotary International, who funded the construction of the bike trail with the RSC). The remainder of the trail (from Riverview Road to Tecumseh, and including its bridge over Little River) was built in 1979 and rehabilitated/upgraded in 1983.