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Media News concerning trails in Central Alberta
January 31, 2012, Paul Frey,
Olds Albertan
Bowden throws support behind
regional trail
Bowden town council decided to appoint Coun. Sheila Church as a
representative to a working group that would oversee various aspects
involved in constructing a regional trail throughout Central Alberta
that would connect the Trans Canada Trail.
The appointment was made Jan. 23 at council's regular meeting after
council received a presentation from Derry Armstrong, a consultant
working on behalf of Alberta Trail Net and Paul Pettypiece,
vice-president of the Central Alberta Regional Trails Society.
Alberta Trail Net, the provincial agent for the Trans Canada Trail,
has been working in Alberta for several years and has helped local
organizations build about 1,700 kilometres of trail throughout Alberta
thus far. The goal is to build about 3,000 kilometres.
Armstrong said the remaining portion of trail from Ponoka to
Lacombe is currently being planned and it's hoped that the portion can
be built in the next couple of years. The Red Deer to Penhold portion as
well as the Innisfail to Olds portion is also being worked on at the
present time. The goal of the working group would be to have community
representation on it to plan the trail.
"Our current focus . . . is to get the Penhold to Olds portion
built in the next couple of years," he told councillors.
About 30 kilometres of trail have already been built from Red Deer
to Ponoka, with more portions planned, Armstrong said.
"We're just getting started in this neck of the woods," he said.
Asked by Church about the cost, Armstrong said the top-end paved
urban style trail about three metres wide costs about $100,000 per
kilometre, but could be less than that if gravel surface was used.
Armstrong said there are numerous benefits to residents -- and
tourists -- of building the trail.
"It gives an opportunity for people living in the area to have a
recreational trail which they can use to go to school on, to go and
visit friends or just to play on. Obviously the more people there are,
the more use the trail will get," he said.
Lacombe and Ponoka counties are supporting the trail plan,
Armstrong said, because many rural people use their bicycles on trails.
"The purpose of the meeting . . . was to introduce to council the
whole concept of a national regional trail. This is only going to happen
if the local municipalities support moving forward," Armstrong said
following the meeting.
Mayor Rob Stuart said council supports the concept. He said not
only would the town's support help create a regional recreational trail
network that could potentially link up to other communities, but it
would also allow the community to use the expertise of CARTS to upgrade
trails inside Bowden.
"This will give us a resource. We can (also) sit at the table . . .
and work in cooperation with the County of Mountain View and the County
of Red Deer to all our benefits, I hope," he said.
January 26, 2012,
Springbrook-Waskasoo Life online magazine
Mintlaw Bridge Access and Preservation Strategy
Gets Mixed Reviews
 Between
75 and 100 people attended the Mintlaw Bridge Access and Preservation
Strategy open house held yesterday at the Red Deer County Centre to see
the draft recommendations for the historic landmark.
Based on feedback
from landowners and several stakeholders including Central Alberta
Regional Trails Society, Alberta TrailNet, Forth Junction Heritage
Society, Central Alberta Historical Society, Waskasoo Park, City of Red
Deer, Town of Sylvan Lake and others, the consultants presented four
options from leaving the bridge as is to using the bridge as part of a
regional trail network.
 All options assumed preservation of the
structure and that, long term, the bridge would have public access from
both sides as envisioned by the county's Open Spaces Master Plan adopted
two years ago. Other
options included a viewpoint on the east side of the bridge but no
access onto the bridge and access onto the bridge but only from the east
side.
The status quo option (no access to or onto the bridge) would cost
about $40,000 per year to maintain. The option of full public access to
and onto the bridge from both sides and part of a regional trail system
is estimated to cost between $2.7 and $3.2 million in one-time capital
costs and about $225,000 per year to operate and maintain. The other two
options would be somewhere in between.
All
nine stakeholder groups that provided input supported pedestrian and
bicycle access from both sides, that the bridge be part of a regional
trail corridor and that the bridge be enhanced with an interpretive
area. Of the 38 adjoining landowners providing input, 37% supported
public access onto the bridge, 29% were unsure and 34% were opposed to
public access onto the bridge. Prior
to the open house, County representatives and consultants met with a
large number of adjoining landowners to outline the draft strategy.
 This
year marks the 100th anniversary of the structure being built by the
Alberta Central Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway. It is over 2100
feet long and 110 feet high at the Red Deer River and is the longest
railway bridge in Central Alberta still standing.
 Located just northwest
of Springbrook, it is the third longest steel trestle in Alberta --
third only to the two longest steel trestles in Canada located at Lethbridge and Fabyan. It supported its last train in 1981, was
abandoned in 1983 and purchased by Red Deer County in 2009 for $1.
The
open house presentation and further feedback can be viewed online until
February 15 at
http://rdcounty.ca/News/News-Releases/Mintlaw-Bridge-Public-Access-and-Preservation-Strategy-Open-House
Nov. 29, 2011,
Springbrook-Waskasoo Life online magazine
CARTS Meets With Penhold Council About Trans Canada
Trail
 Two
representatives from Central Alberta Regional Trails Society (CARTS) met
with Penhold Council yesterday to discuss the importance of getting the
Springbrook-Penhold Trail, a key link in the Trans Canada Trail system,
back on track. The Springbrook-Penhold Trail was stalled earlier this
year when Red Deer County decided not to continue with construction
until Penhold determined where and how it would link the town's planned
trails with the County trail.
The trail along Range Road 281 from the
completed Springbrook natural area trail to Highway 592 was to have been
completed this year but was postponed when the County learned that the
Town wasn't prepared to link the community trail system with that
location in the foreseeable future. The town prefers to link with
Springbrook either along Highway 2A or Range Road 280 which would
involve a pedestrian crossing of Highway 2A where the speed limit is 100
km/h.
CARTS President Debbie Olsen of Lacombe and Vice-President Paul
Pettypiece of Springbrook encouraged the town to participate in
discussions with other communities including Red Deer County to resolve
the impasse.
In addition, plans are currently underway to determine a
trail route linking Penhold with Innisfail as well as communities
further south. CARTS representatives and the trail consultant hired by
Trans Canada Trail met with Innisfail town council last month.
October 18, 2011, Innisfail
Province
Trails association asks council
to get on board
Representatives from the Central Alberta Regional Trails Society
(CARTS) and the Trans Canada Trail were on hand Oct. 11 for a
presentation to Innisfail Town Council.
CARTS president Debbie Olsen and Trans Canada Trail foundation's
central Alberta coordinator Derry Armstrong appeared before council to
ask for its support completing the section of the trail between Penhold
and Olds and to appoint a representative from council and a town staff
member to work with surrounding municipalities to complete the trail.
Armstrong said while much of the trail around Red Deer is largely
complete, the section from Penhold to Innisfail and Innisfail to Olds
are just in the planning stages.
"We really want to fire things up and get it to move forward,"
Armstrong said, noting that the trail is scheduled to be completed by
2017.
Councillors agreed to name a rep at the Oct. 24 council meeting.
September 28, 2011, Jeffrey Heyden-Kaye, Ponoka News
CARTS builds roads, but not for
cars
If you thought it might be a good idea to take your mountain bike
for a road trip to Red Deer, chances are the thought of travelling on a
major highway or on a gravel road changed your mind before leaving the
garage.
The Central Alberta Regional Trails Society (CARTS) might be able
to help.
CARTS' goal is to set up a trail network from Red Deer to
surrounding towns, including Ponoka. Eventually someone could walk from
Ponoka to Red Deer and then to Sylvan Lake, safely, if they felt the
need. Residents of Ponoka already have the benefit of the old C & E
trail following Highway 2A to Morningside, and people can be seen using
the trail with their horses and bikes.
The committee met recently in Ponoka to discuss plans and inspect
the Ponoka trail to see its size and layout. John Jacobs, a member of
Alberta TrailNet, which gives feedback to CARTS, said the challenge is
getting approval from Alberta Transportation.
Right now, trail development must be approved by Alberta
Transportation as many proposed trails are on the highway right of way.
Jacobs said other provinces have created a trail system because the
public is using it, but Alberta has never been interested in doing this.
People are bringing their bikes here and riding them on the highway.
Jacobs said he once had a tenant who would ride his bicycle to
visit his mother in Lacombe. When he asked the man which way he went,
the tenant informed him the only way to go was on the Queen Elizabeth II
highway. Jacobs then decided to get involved with Alberta TrailNet and
CARTS.
"I don't think bicycles should be on the highway, and Alberta
Transportation is rethinking the right of way rules", he explained.
Many of the plans for these paths parallel highway roads, off to
the side, but since there are no major trails, people are using the
breakdown lane. Alberta has realized people will use the roads or the
paths and if it is possible to make it safe for them, they will. Jacobs
did say it has been a fairly lengthy process to raise awareness of the
benefits of the trails, and the motion to get these trails built in
under way.
Many municipalities are working together and the momentum is
growing because of it.
September 8, 2011, Red Deer
Advocate
Lacombe-Blackfalds trail delayed
A new trail between Lacombe and Blackfalds will have to wait until
next year.
Lacombe County had hoped to build the six-km link this summer, but
final details on a route have not yet been completed, said Phil
Lodermeier, the county's manager of operations.
"We're still in land negotiations," he said on Wednesday.
Lodermeier said the county met with landowners along the proposed route
on the long weekend and the county is getting closer to getting all of
the neighbours on board.
The county must also get approval from federal officials with the
Lacombe Research Centre. There is plenty of support there for the trail,
which will run through a portion of research centre property, however
all the paperwork has not been completed.
"It's just a case of crossing the t's and dotting the i's," he
said.
The summer's heavy rainfalls and the large amount of repair work
required on county roads also got in the way of the trail project.
The paved walking and biking trail will provide a link to trails
being built in Blackfalds and Lacombe and would become part of a route
that will one day stretch 70 km from Penhold to Ponoka.
A pair of pedestrian bridges across the Battle and Blindman Rivers
have already been built.
Lodermeier hopes to begin construction on the link as soon as
weather permits in the spring.
"So we're not there yet, but we're making progress."
August 6, 2011, Paul Cowley,
Red Deer Advocate
Blazing Trail
Counties linking communities by trail
When local walking trail boosters gathered a few years ago, the prospect
of creating a network of paths in Central Alberta looked doubtful,
admits Paul Pettypiece, vice-president of Central Alberta Regional
Trails Society.
"Getting rural trails done is a bit of a challenge. But a lot of
progress has been made."
Lacombe County is just one of the municipalities that has stepped
up to the trail-making challenge in recent years.
"For rural trails, Lacombe County has definitely taken the lead on
that," he says. "We're quite thrilled to work with them."
This year, Lacombe County planned to build a six-km link between
Blackfalds and Lacombe, adding another piece to a project begun the
previous year with the construction of bridges over the Blindman and
Battle Rivers.
The paved walking and biking trail will provide a link to trails
being built in Blackfalds and Lacombe and would become part of a route
that will one day stretch 70 km from Penhold to Ponoka.
Whether the county will get the Blackfalds-to-Lacombe trail done
this year is uncertain.
Phil Lodermeier, the county's manager of operations, says the
county has been busy dealing with washed-out roads and other problems
brought on by the summer's heavy rainfalls. That has not left much time
to finalize rights-of-way with landowners and work out other details
necessary before construction can start.
Work may get underway later this summer, but a 2012 start gets more
likely as the summer progresses. Lodermeier said he's less concerned
about getting started this year than he is just keeping the momentum
going.
"If it were to happen next year, I'd be happy with that."
It is hoped the portion from Lacombe to Ponoka can be built in
2012.
Linking the communities meant building two pedestrian bridges. The
Battle River bridge in Ponoka was completed in 2009 and a similar bridge
over the Blindman River further south was finished in the spring 2010.
The Town and County of Ponoka are also working together to build a
trail south from the town to the southern border of the county, a route
that will include a link with the J.J. Collett Natural Area.
"Eventually, from the nature centre to the Town of Lacombe will be
completed. But we don't have a timeline on that yet," says Pettypiece.
Those projects are only part of the trail building planned.
Red Deer County has also shown enthusiasm for establishing trails
in rural areas.
The county has adopted an Open Spaces Master Plan that embraces the
idea of linking communities with a trail network.
Trails are proposed connecting Springbrook to Penhold and Spruce
View to Dickson, and a Cottonwood day-use area near Dickson Dam.
They include a 3.6-km trail to be built from Springbrook to Penhold,
a 6.8-km trail between Spruce View and Dickson and a one-km trail at the
west end of Glennifer Lake to provide public access to the Red Deer
River.
Mayor Jim Wood says it was hoped that the Springbrook link would
happen this year but it has been put on hold for now. The county was
reluctant to build its trail before Penhold has completed its own
section to the south. That is not expected to happen until a future
industrial park is developed just north of the town on the west side of
Hwy 2A.
The Spruce View-to-Dickson link is also still on the planning table
but no firm start date has been proposed. It will be reviewed each year
by council at budget time, as will the shorter trail near Glennifer
Lake.
Another gap to be filled is a link with the City of Red Deer and
Springbrook.
"So far, there is no immediate plan for a trail between Springbrook
and Red Deer, although there's several plans that show different ways
that can be done," Pettypiece says. "We're looking actually at several
different ways that link can be made."
The trails society is also looking at ways to extend a route from
Penhold to Innisfail.
"Innisfail already has trails that are registered as part of the
TransCanada Trail system, so now it's just a matter of linking up
Penhold with Innisfail somehow," he says, adding a number of
alternatives are being considered.
Trail boosters have reason for some of their heightened optimism.
The federal government has made it known it wants to see a TransCanada
Trail in place by the nation's 150th anniversary in 2017. Millions of
dollars are set aside for trail building.
"We're quite happy that some money has been committed for that.
That gives us a lot of excitement and hope and momentum.
"There's going to have to be a lot of work done for that to happen
but we're working towards that."
By 2017, the society would like to see the trails completed at
least from Ponoka to Penhold and, with hope, to Innisfail.
"Then there are some other linkages that have to be done as well.
Like where does it go from Innisfail south? We still have to work on
that."
A route between Wetaskiwin and Ponoka must also be found. It still
hasn't been determined if it would go through Hobbema or take another
path to connect with existing trails in the Wetaskiwin area.
"So there is a lot to be done but considering where we were five
years ago . . . we were starting to get discouraged by these rural
linkages.
"We've really come a long way."
Further west, planning work is underway on a trail from Rocky
Mountain House to Nordegg.
The proposed 125-km trail would largely follow an abandoned
railroad line and pass through several historic settlements such as
Horburg, Alcuno, Alexo, Saunders and Phoenix.
The biggest obstacle right now is cost.
Mike Haugen, Clearwater County's community and protective services
manager, said council is looking for ways to reduce the $6 million cost
of building the trail. County staff are looking at ways to pare down the
size of the project and searching for other funding through industry
partnerships and grants from federal and provincial governments.
There is no time line on when trail construction will begin. The
three-metre-wide trail will have washrooms, garbage cans, picnic sites,
signage and a few remote campsites. The route would be open to motorized
and non-motorized traffic.
July 30, 2011, Paul Cowley, Red Deer Advocate
Rural trail project stalls
Red Deer County route on hold until Penhold development proceeds
A proposed trail between Springbrook and Penhold has run into a
dead end.
Red Deer County had planned to build the 3.6 km link this year. The
route would have been along Range Road 281, about 1.5 km east of Hwy 2A.
All the necessary planning and rights-of-way are in place and $757,000
was set aside in this year's budget.
However, those plans ran into problems because the Town of Penhold
said it could not build a necessary east-west link along Secondary Hwy
592 until the area slated for industrial and commercial use is
developed, said County Mayor Jim Wood. It's not clear when that might
happen.
"The time frame was unknown. So I drafted a letter from my office
to (Penhold Mayor Dennis Cooper) that indicated we weren't going to be
able to proceed at this particular time."
Wood said the problem doesn't just rest with Penhold.
"There were other aspects of that trail that were also posing
problems. I'm not trying to blame it on Penhold," said Wood.
Among the issues the municipality is wrestling with is how to
create a safe crossing at Hwy 2A. The county wants the crossing to be at
the town where speeds are lower, which limits choices.
"We really tried hard to figure out a way to make this thing
happen. But it just doesn't look like it's going to work until they are
prepared to put their trail system in," said Wood.
Cooper said it could be some time before development happens on the
industrial land, so the town suggested the route be moved further east
to Range Road 280. Many people already use that road to get to the
Penhold Regional Multiplex and that route would hook into trails being
built in the town.
Another option considered would be to move the route east of Hwy
2A. But the county is reluctant to put the trail there because it would
mean crossing Hwy 2A near Springbrook, at a spot where highway speeds
prevail.
Cooper said another alternative would be to use an abandoned
roadbed next to the railway tracks that run on the west side of Hwy 2A
as a route.
Even if the county doesn't like the other options, they should go
ahead with the trail on Range Road 281, he said.
"If they've acquired the right-of-ways and that, then build the
trail. That's my feeling.
"No, we're not going to connect it right away, but we'll eventually
connect to it."
Cooper said Penhold and the county will continue to look at a way
to make the trail happen.
"Our dialogue definitely isn't over. We're going to continue to try
to figure out how to get around this."
May 17, 2011, Johnnie Bachusky,
Mountain View Gazette
Opposition comes forward to
Mintlaw Bridge preservation
Red Deer County has hired a consultant to study the possible future
uses for the historically significant Mintlaw trestle bridge -- but
one of the municipality's most famous citizens is dead set against
making the ancient structure a promoted public attraction for a new
park area.
"I'm still opposed to making it a public park. It's not set up to be
a recreation park," said Jack Donald, whose home is literally
situated in the shadow of the bridge, which was for many years
unused and forgotten.
"The other thing is that the bridge is inherently dangerous," added
Donald, founder of Parkland Income Trust, and now president and
chief executive officer of Parkland Properties Ltd. "Somebody is
going to get hurt or even killed."
Last month, the county hired RC Strategies, an Edmonton consultant
company, to gather stakeholder and landowner input on the bridge's
long-term preservation, its possible future uses and whether there
should be public access from both its east and west entry points.
The study will cost the county $50,000 and will be finished by the
end of the year.
Jo-Ann Symington, the county's community services manager, said the
process will include discussions with all interest groups, including
historical societies, trail groups and property owners in the area,
including the Donald family.
"This is an opportunity for the public to comment. They (historical
and trail societies) view the bridge as an important historical
investment, and now that we have acquired it we want to find out its
best future use. As we move through this process that will be
determined," said Symington.
In 2009 the county purchased the bridge for $1. Built in 1912, the
structure, located seven kilometres southwest of Red Deer, was
originally owned by the Alberta Central Railway, and later, the
Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. With a span of 633 metres across the
Red Deer River and towering 33 metres above the waterway below, the
railway bridge is the second longest of its kind in Alberta, after
the one in Lethbridge. Considered one of Central Alberta's few
remaining relics to the Age of Steam, the last train to cross the
bridge was in 1981.
Two months ago the county spent $122,800 to prop up the west end of
the bridge, which was sagging under the crushing weight of steel
girders from above and the ongoing deterioration of decades-old
timber supports. It is estimated that a further $2 million of work
still needs to be done on the bridge to make it user-friendly for
the public. Many years ago several metres at both ends of the bridge
were removed to ensure visitor safety, particularly for the many
young people who frequent the site.
For now, however, the county wants to find out how the antique
structure can fit in with the many ideas that have recently come to
public attention.
There have been suggestions the bridge could be an integral part of
a trail system between the City of Red Deer and Sylvan Lake for
hikers, walkers and cyclists.
The structure is also considered an important component for the
ambitions of the Forth Junction Heritage Society, a group dedicated
to preserving and promoting the region's transportation history and
to making Central Alberta a world-class heritage destination.
"The bridge definitely is a vital piece of heritage. It and the
cement pillar on Taylor Drive (in Red Deer) are the only things left
from the Alberta Central Railway," said Paul Pettypiece, the
society's president. "In fact many people don't even know where the
bridge is."
Pettypiece said the concerns of landowners in the area of the bridge
will have to be addressed before any action plan on future use is
implemented.
Meanwhile, Donald wonders why the county has taken on such a large
project that could come at great expense to ratepayers when a
significant benefit will be for citizens of the City of Red Deer,
which has not committed any resources or funds to any plans and
processes to have the bridge preserved.
"Many people don't seem to understand the implications of this,"
said Donald, noting the bridge has a serious rust problem and is in
dire need of sandblasting and new paint. "The county has no budget
in place for things like fencing, or for providing all the things
people need, like toilets and garbage cans and telephones. You have
to look after these things.
"I don't think proper preparations have been made."
May 5, 2011, Lisa Joy, Lacombe Globe
County trails face opposition
Lacombe County is having ongoing discussions with landowners to
clear the way for the Central Alberta Trail System and trails throughout
the county.
"For the most part we have a trail but there are just a few links
missing," Phil Lodermeier, county manager of operations told council at
its April 28 meeting.
About 66 people attended an open house on April 13 to view displays
from Trans Canada Trail, Alberta Trailnet, City of Lacombe, Town of
Blackfalds, and Lacombe County.
Lodermeier said a few landowners are opposed to the trail.
"Some people who are opposed do not even live near the trail," said
Lodermeier. "There is a fear of what may happen."
Issues of concern included use and noise of motorized vehicles,
destruction of the lakeshore, and upkeep and maintenance.
Thirteen residents signed a petition against the trail saying they
are opposed to the location along Range Road 272.
"We are trying to be as flexible as we can with landowners,"
Lodermeier said. "This is an amenity people want to see."
The county will spend $603,834 from the trails reserve fund and
$83,269 from the operating budget for the trail system.
In 2008 the trail system in central Alberta became a part of the
TransCanada Trail after CARTS registered 70.6 kilometres of trail as TCT.
They include: 7.1 kilometres in Lacombe, 5.2 kilometres in Ponoka, 16
kilometres in Red Deer County, 23.8 kilometres in Lacombe County, and
18.5 kilometres in Ponoka County.
Media News re trails 2011
Media News re trails 2010
Media News re trails 2009
Media News re trails 2008
Media News re trails 2007
Media News re trails 2006
Media News re trails 2005
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