Niagara region, but one of the smaller populations,” notes Mayor Cheryl Ganann. The municipality’s strategy focuses on three pillars: modernizing infrastructure to support growth, diversifying housing options, and nurturing its agricultural innovation sector. “We want to see the growth,” Ganann explains, “but we still want to be building a complete community.” A RURAL LANDSCAPE WITH SMALL-TOWN CHARACTER West Lincoln’s geography shapes its unique identity within the Niagara Region. Spanning vast agricultural lands, the municipality’s rural character remains its defining feature, with Smithville serving as its commercial center. A key distinction separates West Lincoln from its neighbor, “many people do mix us up with Lincoln, which has a great many wineries,” Ganann notes. “Most of Lincoln is below the escarpment. West Lincoln is on top of the escarpment, we have one lonely winery. Our soils are suitable for farming and for many other agriculturally related businesses, we don’t have that perfect climate and land for growing grapes.” This geographic difference has fostered divergent economic identities, where Lincoln thrives on viticulture, West Lincoln’s agricultural operations anchor its economy. Smithville’s downtown currently faces infrastructure challenges that underscore the balance between growth and preservation. “Right now, Highway 20 through Smithville is a major East-West thoroughfare and agriculture uses it, trucking logistics need to use that, and it puts our downtown in somewhat of a challenging position because of the amount of very heavy truck industrial traffic that needs to go through,” explains Truper McBride. “It goes through the middle of our town,” Ganann adds. “We’ve had to deal with that issue for a good many years.” This thoroughfare’s industrial use currently limits the downtown’s potential as a 151 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 05 WEST LINCOLN, ON
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