Welland Canal an average of about eleven hours to traverse the entire length of the Welland Canal. Before the digging of the Welland Canal, shipping traffic between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie used a portage road between Chippawa, Ontario, and Queenston, Ontario, both of which are located on the Niagara River—above and below Niagara Falls, respectively. The Welland Canal Company was incorporated by the Province of Upper Canada, in 1824, after a petition by nine "freeholders of the District of Niagara". One of the petitioners was William Hamilton Merritt, who was in part looking to provide a regular flow of water for
Welland Recreational Waterway Welland Recreational Waterway Master Plan is available online and details proposals for the future of the canal. In 2012, Bike Welland and ShortHills Cycling Club (SHCC) jointly presented a proposal to the Welland Recreational Canal Corporation (WRCC) for a 160-acre naturalized, urban park along the "northern reach" section of the Welland Canal. The land, which is embedded in the urban fabric, is already used by residents for hiking, trail running and mountain biking, and is the only section of the canal in Welland that is undeveloped. The Northern Reach Park would conserve the area for recreation and wildlife habitat, and