The Town of Penhold and the Central Alberta Regional Trail System (CARTS) are joining forces to create a trail system in Penhold as new residential areas are being developed.
“The town has put together a request for grant funding from the National Trails Coalition (NTC) for a total of $325,000, which is 50 per cent of the estimated cost of $650,000 for the Penhold section,” said Rick Binnendyk, the town's chief administrative officer. “We had Tagish Engineering put together an estimate for the 3,200-metre path through town which included cost of utility moves, design, engineering and build.”
He noted that the trail would create a walking path along the new residential development along the north and east of Highway 2A and connect with the existing Waskasoo Avenue system, and include a new path in the future Palisades division.
“We fully support Penhold's grant application for a trail within the town,” said Paul Pettypiece, president of CARTS, an organization that is promoting a trail system throughout Central Alberta. “It is a good time to build their trail with new land development coming along, and there is always the possibility of developer participation in the project.”
He noted that the Penhold trail design has the possibility of allowing Red Deer County's trail to connect easily with the urban system.
“With the Penhold grant application, an answer could come before the end of 2014,” said Pettypiece. “You just never know with grants of this nature. One condition of the grant is that the project must be completed before December 31, 2015.”
NTC is a government sponsored organization with both governmental and non-governmental fund sources whose mandate is to help build, develop and maintain trail systems across Canada.
Further information on CARTS can be found at www.centralalbertatrails.org.
