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 Ö is to get the Penhold to Olds portion built in the next couple of years,î 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,î 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 ñ and tourists ñ 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,î 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 Ö 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,î 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 Ö and work in cooperation with the County of Mountain View and the County of Red Deer to all our benefits, I hope,î he said.
"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."Derry Armstrong, Alberta Trail Net
