St Paul Crescent street and bridge are bound by St Paul Street, Mc Guire street, and Westchester Avenue in the city of St. Catharines. The area plays an important role as the main gateway location funneling traffic into downtown from highway 406 and St. Paul Street West. Moreover, it is a small-sized, isolated trail path located near the Downtown area. It is also surrounded by a car storage/parking area on St Paul Street, the granite monument "Rock Pile", and the signature StPaul Crescent bridge. Historically, the original bridge in this location used to be a wooden swing bridge and soon to be replaced by a steel box-girder bridge in the mid-1980s. During that time, there was less concern about cars colliding and damaging the truss members, hence, the bridge is not qualified for modern transportation and now closed to vehicular traffic. Currently, the area contributes to the city scenery as a recreational trail path. Because it's located next to the Twelve Mile Creek, the St Paul Crescent's biota is diverse, and the habitats are relatively hospitable. However, due to the urbanization process and street construction, St Paul Crescent street and bridge appear to be dominated by human activities. As a result, many environmental aspects from geomorphology to hydrology and climate are altered negatively. Therefore, it is urban planners' responsibility to acknowledge St Paul Crescent street and bridge's conditions and prevent further damages through conducting policies.

Municipality: St. Catharines, Ontario

Local area name: St Paul Cresent Street and Bridge

Other identifying names or descriptions: N/A

Latitude and longitude: St Paul Crescent Street: 43.14761,-79.25273. St Paul Crescent Bridge: 43.152410,-79.246340

Physical Dimensions:

Length: 688m (Street), 14m (Bridge)

Width: 7.5m (Street), 4.3m (Bridge)

Surface Area: 0.23 ha or 0.567 acres

Elevation:

The entrance of the St Paul Crescent trail path is at 75m.

St Paul Cresent Street & Bridge is a 0.5-acre municipal recreational and historical trail path situated at the south corner of downtown St. Catharines. The area is cut off by King's Highway 406 and bounded by St Paul Street, Mc Guire Street, and Westchester Avenue. Additionally, the St Paul Crescent Bridge intersects over the 12 Mile Creek Waterway, which is the essential water source for ecology and sewage output. There is also a storage/parking lot, approximately 300m away located on St Paul Street, and the signature "Rock Pile" granite monument (image 2.1) next to the parking lot. Within the area, there is a 300-square meter abandoned house, a steep hill leading to the main St. Paul street, and some color spray paint on the concrete which indicates water pipes, sewage, and electrical cables (Cronon, 2009). Historically, the original purpose of the bridge is to provide a crossing path over the waterway for the locals to trade goods. A previous bridge at this location used to be a wooden swing bridge, then, it's upgraded to Metal 8 Panel River-Connected Parker Through Truss structure type (HistoricBridges.org, 2005). However, the condition of the bridge is not qualified for motorized traffic since the builders were less concerned about hazards caused by colliding cars back then. Hence, the bridge is now only opened to pedestrians and the St Paul Crescent is developed as a residential and recreational town path surrounded by small businesses, churches, and apartments.

Map 1: illustrates an overview of the St Paul Crescent Street and Bridge area.

Observing on-site, there is a combination of "native plant" and "naturalized urban plant" growing within the St Paul Crescent & Bridge trail path, which is indicated as area number 3 in the plant's table of The Regional Municipality of Niagara (image 4a.1). Some common plant species include Tree-of-heaven, European Black Alder, and Bull Thistle. These species are "native plants" because they are grouped as a forest-like area and their growth path is relatively unaltered (Hough, 2004, p.90). Besides, "naturalized" plants, which are growing as vines and weeds are also noticed in the area. These plants cover fences and abandoned infrastructure with no sign of human interruption (image 4a.2). The colors of those vines appeared to be uneven with yellowish leaves, this could be an effect of soil salinity resulted from human spreading salt during the winter. Although there is no sign of flower blooming in this season, the presence of old trees and swamp plants by the water provides an appealing aesthetic for this trail path. Unfortunately, the Regional Municipality of Niagara recorded a rising number of endangered plants such as Butternut, Red Mulberry, and Cherry Birch. Even though the ecology could be influenced by other factors, human constructions can also contribute to the impacts.

Aquatic organisms:

As mentioned above, the St Paul Crescent Street & Bridge intersects with the Twelve Miles Creek waterway which is the essential spawning habitat for aquatic organisms.There are up to 59 species of fish have been identified in the Twelve Miles Creek, including rainbow trout, brown trout, salmon and so on (Snukal, 2016). However, there is no recreational fishing on site since the current flows relatively fast.

Despite its important role as the only cold-water stream in the Niagara region, the Twelve Miles Creek is degrading because of human construction which declines the population of the Brook trout. At the headwaters of the Creek, a railroad way was built across the wood 100 years ago, which separated a large pond into 2 proportions. One proportion acted as a dam and the other connected with the Creek. However, fast forward till these days, the railroad is deteriorating and connecting the 2 ponds again. Hence, the creek temperature has increased an average of 6 degrees since the connected dam at the headwaters is exposed all day to the sun. As a result, the sediments following the water path and the warm water are wiping out the Brook trout (Culic, 2019).Fortunately, solutions have been carried out by the NCC (Nature Conservancy of Canada) to protect the trout from extinction.Some solutions involve lowering the pond levels and reconstruct of the hiking trail. (Green, 2020)

Fauna:

St Paul Crescent and Bridge appeared to be hostile for the dense fauna community. Because of its natural resources which are forested habitats, great lakes, and wetlands; the Niagara Region is home to 5 sites designated as Important Bird Areas. (Brown et al, 2010). Migratory birds often find this area ideal for breeding and relocating their nests by the water of Twelve Mile Creeks. (image 4a.3) Common bird species in the Niagara region include wood ducks, great blue herons, blue jays, and pileated woodpeckers (Head, 2017). Apparently, squirrels and skunks also gather within this area since their traces and skunk odor were spotted on site.

However, it is likely that Niagara fauna is more diverse in the past comparing with the modern days. After the Second World War, the Niagara region experienced a large demand in housing as citizens start moving away from downtown Toronto because of the increasing house price. This resulted in the urban expansion in those south areas of Toronto including Oakville, Burlington and Niagara. (Gayler 2003). Consequently, the amount of green space has dropped significantly these past few decades (aerial image 2000 & 2015), and more infrastructure has been built to adapt human demand. Losing a large amount of habitat, a wide range of species is on the verge of extinction, for instance, Hooded Warbler,Peregrine Falcon birds are listed as threatened, and Chimney Swift, Common Nighthawk are listed as endangered. As the population keeps growing, the wildlife ecology will be dominated and it can no longer be reversed if there's no immediate actions.

B) Geomorphology:

The origin of Niagara Escarpment dated back 400 million years ago when the region used to lie underneath a huge lake. That lake carried a wide range of soil components, for instance, silt, clay, and sand deposits. Not until 100 million years later, the lake receded and revealed the sediments layers on the ground surface (Brown, et. al, 2010). Currently, within the area of St Paul Crescent and Bridge, the soil carries 26% of mixed clay and loam, 30% mixed silt, 4.5% mixed sand, water and other organic soil components (The Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority, 2012).

As this area intersects very tight knit with the Twelve Mile Creek, its proportion comprises of river basin, wetlands, and sealed soils from asphalt development. The elevation from this trail path to the St Paul street is relatively significant, since it's connected by a steep asphalt. This hill can indicate that this area used to be a hot-spot for trading goods in the past, as it is not pedestrian-friendly and was used mainly by motorized traffic. (Cronon, 2009). According to Marzluff, a soil with good geological condition will help the rain water infiltrate into the underground sewage system, however, while observing on site, a vast amount of soil area was storing water on the surface (image 4b.2), and in cracks (image 4b.1). This is a result of using manmade soil substrates to build road which can interfere the water balance process, microclimates and biotopes (Marzluff, 2008).

With the huge gap of elevation, the St Paul Crescent and Bridge is prone to runoff erosion. Over time, the Twelve Mile Creek's water eroded the stream bank, yet it's still used for residential land. Many houses under this valley once went through house leveling or even excavation. (The Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority, 2012).

Human-induced changes in the area is also significant. Because of the high-demand urban expansion, natural soil is being torn and replaced with transportation infrastructures which leads to habitat fragmentation and species extinction. Disturbance of landforms will directly affect those predator species at the top of the food pyramid. (Marzluff, 2008) In Niagara, spiders and ground beetles are experiencing drastic decline because of habitat shrinking. Consequently, plant lice, pests won't be targeted ,and they are in a favorable condition to destroy the biota (Marzluff, 2008).

The main water source of the St Paul Crescent & Bridge area is from the Twelve Miles Creek waterway. Its headwaters are situated in the town of Pelham which encompasses some of the most untouched and natural ecology in the Niagara Region. The Twelve Miles Creek is the only suitable habitat for the native Brook Trout because of its unique cold-water stream. However, due to urbanization, and alternation of the water cycle, the Twelve Mile Creek is now suffering from severe contamination. A contributing factor is bridge construction which can alter the stream flow directly, disturbs soils and increase sedimentation. (Alberti, 2008). Another great factor affects the stream is urban runoff. Urban waste such as pesticides, nutrients, toxic can be carried directly to the stream when sewer system capacity is exceeded. As a result, the Twelve Mile Creek is now dominated with polychlorinated biphenyls, which is a detrimental chemical degrading water quality and altering the water biological features such as boiling point, vapor pressures. Moreover, high water levels of the Twelve Miles Creek are causing concerns for Niagara citizens. Residents living nearby the stream are urged to take caution and monitor weather conditions, wind speed frequently, since slipping can happen while walking along the path. According to NPCA report (2012), The Twelve Miles Creek water levels are expected to continue rising.

As land is developed and urbanization increases, Niagara's climate has experienced detrimental disturbances which affects its biodiversity. The most significant factor that alters the region temperature is greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases are essential to the Earth as they absorb energy from shortwave radiation in the ultraviolet range, hence, the more amount of greenhouse gases the warmer the Earth will become. Additionally, human activities such as using air conditioner, building concrete can directly contribute to the heat energy. (Hough, 2004, chapter 6). Canada's average temperature has increased 1.3 degree Celsius through the last century and it is expected to rise 4-7 degree Celsius in the next century if there's no immediate actions (Peney, 2012).Within the Niagara region, the amount of 3-continuous hot days occurs more often during the year which leads to summer drought, heavy rain events. Additionally, winter in Niagara started experiencing long term freeze-thaw cycles and rain events happen more often than snowing.

Another factor indicating the climate condition is air quality. Most of the urban area is reported to carry many particulates, liquid contaminants and atmospheric carbon dioxide released from motorized traffic and industrial factories. (Hough, 2004, chapter 6) This is problematic as certain beneficial vitamins in sunlight are reflected and cannot penetrate to human's skin. Reducing vitamin absorption can lead to other health issues, for example, low oxygen-carrying capacity of blood, genetic damage and birth defects (Hough, 2004). According to Air Quality Ontario, St Catharines's air pollution is getting worse slightly in the past decades, from level 1 AQHI to level 2 AQHI, however, it remains at low risk.

Education/Interpretion: The Brock UniversityGIS can provide interpretive images of the St Paul Crescent & Bridge area.Most of the data provided is geospatial data and air photos. Available at: https://brocku.ca/maplibrary/digital/digital.php

Physical dimensions and information about when the St Paul bridge was built , in 1968 can be located at the St. Catharines library.

Architectural Heritage: A previous bridge at this St Paul Crescent & Bridge location was a wooden swing bridge. The original guardrails are still present on the sidewalks and on one side of the deck. The bridge is now fenced and closed for vehicular traffic for protection since it was not stable enough for modern days heavy traffic. The truss of the bridge has no signs of alternation and appears to be excellent preserved (HistoricalBridges.org, 2005).

Recreational uses: Hiking paths to the valley, which leads to the bridge, and along the Twelve Mile Creek are opened and available for pedestrians.

The St Paul Crescent & Bridge is under the Regional Municipality of Niagara. Where all the historical features within this area are controlled and maintained such as St Paul Bridge, "Rock Pile" granite. Public access is permitted both day and night and is also advertised for tourists and Brock students because it's rich in history.

The area also falls under the Corporation of the town of St. Catharines Zoning by Law. Zoning by law are used to regulate the use of land within a region, St. Catharines Zoning by law is a kind of Planning Act in order to manage and develop the future of the town.St. Catharines Zoning By-Law Amendment includes:

• Maximum Building Height: Buildings are limited to 30.5m. Restaurants, retail stores, and service commercial uses shall be at ground floor.
• Corner Lot Sight Triangle: Every street corner within the area is determined a minimum distance of 1.5m.

The St Paul Crescent plays an important role in connecting the Western Hill community with the Downtown of St. Catharines. Within the area, there are a famous Vietnamese restaurant called Pho Ngon, parking lots, and services buildings.On the other hand, the St Paul Bridge is more isolated and located downhill which is mostly for residential purposes. In the book "Advances in urban ecology", Alberti (2008) pointed out that there are four landscape signatures including form, density, heterogeneity, and connectivity. By looking at these 4 signatures, one can describe any infrastructure's urban context. Looking at the first feature: form which is the degree of centralization of a structure, St Paul Crescent's form is "multicentric" because it intersects with other main streets, whereas the St Paul bridge's form is "monocentric" as the area is cut off by the highway 406 and some areas of the trail path are limited by fences. Secondly, the St Paul Crescent's density, which is the ratio of population, is adequate.According to Population Stat,St Catharines has the total population of 131989 (PopulationStat, 2020) which means there are approximately 1259 people per square kilometer. The next signature is heterogeneity, which is the interaction of social phenomenon and land uses from residential to commercial and industrial (Alberti, 2008). Observing on site, a lot of houses are being constructed and advertised for sale as St Paul Crescent is a high-demand residential area because of its convenience and green worth. Lastly, the St Paul Crescent & Bridge's connectivity, which can be measured by resources flow and the movement of organisms. In terms of the bridge, it used to be the essential path for people in the 1960s to cross over the waterway and trade goods, unfortunately, it's now closed to vehicular traffic and remain isolated. On the contrary, more construction is undergoing within the St Paul Crescent as the demand for housing is constantly rising. Building more roads will increase the connectivity and help citizens to reach more sites easily. However, this proves that this area is a human-dominated ecosystem as many species are forced to relocate and less appear on site because of habitat destruction. In conclusion, the greater the connectivity the higher the chances of animal extinction and damaged ecosystem. It is urban planners' responsibility to conduct policies and prevent unnecessary road from being built since the ecosystem should be prioritized over economic benefits.

Niagara Region

Municipal administration office in Thorold, Ontario.

Address: 1815 Sir Isaac Brock Way, Thorold, ON L2V 4T7.

Hours:

Open ⋅ Closes 4:30 p.m.

Phone: (905) 980-6000

Province: Ontario

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Green, B. Oct 9, 2020. "Virtual meeting for Twelve Mile Creek concerns". Available at: https://thevoiceofpelham.ca/2020/10/09/virtual-meeting-for-twelve-mile-creek-concerns/

Head, S.K. 2017. "Where the Beavers Built Their Dams: The Evolution of a Unique Cultural Heritage Landscape in Thorold, Ontario". Edited by John Burtniak, Thorold: Heritage Thorold LACAC.

HistoricBridges.org. 2005. "St Paul Crescent Bridge". Available at: https://historicbridges.org/bridges/browser/?bridgebrowser=truss/stpaulcr/

Hough, Michael. (2004). Cities and Natural Process: A Basis for Sustainability. London: Routledge, 2004. Brock University eBook Collection (EBSCOhost), EBSCOhost (accessed November 11, 2020).

Marzluff, J. 2008. "Urban Ecology-An international perspective on the interaction between Humans and Nature". Brock University Library Catalogue, EBSCOhost (accessed Nov 11, 2020).

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Snukal, K. 2016 January 28. "Growing Our Greenbelt: Lake Gibson & Twelve Mile Creek". Available at:https://www.greenbelt.ca/growourgb_lakegibson_2016

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This Local Landscape Report was prepared by Dinh Nam Anh for the Brock University course TOUR 2P94: Human Dominated Ecosystems on November 011, 2020.

All copyrights for cited material rest with the original copyright owners.