Council being asked to OK sanctioned trail network

By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on June 2, 2023.

Herald file photo A mountain bike rider makes his way along a trail earlier this spring in the Six Mile Coulee area of the city's river valley. The City is looking to move forward to adopt a sanctioned trail network.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com

City council is being asked to have administration move forward with the adoption of a sanctioned trail network in the river valley.

The recommendation to adopt the network was made by the Civic Works Standing Policy Committee Thursday.

The committee consists of chair Belinda Crowson, vice-chair Deputy Mayor John Middleton-Hope, Acting Mayor Ryan Parker and councillor Nick Paladino.

A report submitted by Blair Richter, general manager of Parks & Cemeteries, said that administration was directed by council in 2020 to engage with community residents on recreational usage in the river valley as a follow-up action after the cancellation of the Six Mile Coulee Pathway Development.

“Direction was given to consult with river valley user groups to discuss a strategy, framework and partnership so local organizations can work together to create a unique experience in the river valley.

“One outcome of the 2020 engagement was the desire for a sanctioned single track trail network in the river valley, in order to define allowed trail usage, mitigate rogue trail building, and preserve ecologically and culturally sensitive areas within the coulee system. Consequently, a network utilizing existing trails was established with consultation and feedback from river valley stakeholders and the public,” says the report.

The trail network would serve several purposes including the protection of culturally and ecologically sensitive locations.

Other considerations include promoting recreational activity, educating the public on permitted trail usage and prohibited activities; and reducing the amount of unwanted behaviour. There would also be properly maintained sanctioned trails.

Presently there are 37 kilometres of single-track trails in the city. The network is proposed only for the east side of the Oldman River with the north/south primary connector from the Helen Schuler Nature Nature reserve in the north to Six Mile Coulee in the south.

The network requires an agreement for use with the Lethbridge Country Club since a trail runs through that property.

The area west of the Oldman River would be excluded for now because ecological and historical assessments need to be conducted.

The use or exclusion of Battleship Island is a concern, with the public making consistent requests to using it as a connection, the SPC was told by Parks Planning Manager Chris Witkowski.

No formal biological assessments have yet been made on the island, said Witkowski, with the City being far away from being able to say that connection can be made. A feasibility study of a trail connection is one of the next steps in the planning stage for the network.

The Lethbridge Trail Alliance made a presentation to the SPC that stated “the multi-use single-track trail network within the coulees is utilized for running,

hiking, mountain biking, nature appreciation, and much more. Yet these trails remain unsanctioned, largely unmaintained, weakly interconnected, poorly mapped, and

divide users with unrealized potential for economic development, sustainabilityand tourism.”

The Alliance, which became a not-for-profit association in 2021, says it aims to be a representative and diverse group of trail users “with a unified voice dedicated to single-track advocacy and stewardship.”

It says “together with coulee stakeholders, the community, and City officials, we are working to ensure the long term enjoyment and sustainability of single-track trails for City of Lethbridge residents and visitors.”

It wants to develop a partnership agreement with the City. In a letter to the SPC, the Alliance said it wants to collaborate with the City in the development of a master plan for single-track trails “that sets approved direction for future improvements to the single-track network.”

There is new plan to develop new trails, the SPC was told by Richter.

Future steps for the city include exploring a maintenance agreement with the LTA and or other stakeholder groups, completing a river valley signage plan and conducting the assessments on the west side of the Oldman.

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