Partnership aimed at enhancing river valley trail network

By Lethbridge Herald on December 6, 2024.

Lethbridge Trail Alliance member Marc Bomhof takes a coulee top spin on a mountain bike after the announcement Thursday of the launch of a new partnership between the LTA and the City of Lethbridge. Herald photo by Al Beeber

Al Beeber – LETHBRIDGE HERALD – abeeber@lethbridgeherald.com

Marc Bomhof has since the 1990s been an avid user of the city’s network of trails for cycling in the coulees.

Now a father of two, he’s excited about the possibilities for his own kids and other youth with the announcement on Thursday of a formal partnership between the City of Lethbridge and the Lethbridge Trail Alliance which will see improvements to the vast existing trail network in the river valley.

The partnership with the Parks and Cemeteries department of the City and the LTA is dedicated to creating trail networks that are both safe and long-lasting.

The announcement was made Thursday morning near the Galt Museum atop the coulee shelf by members of the City and the LTA who had a shovel handy for a ceremonial ground breaking.

Deputy mayor Nick Paladino, Parks Planning Manager Andrew Sommerville and Ralph Arnold, president of the LTA all spoke at the event under warm sunny skies.

Bomhof, an LTA member and avid cyclist, said after the event “I grew up in Lethbridge and I was riding in the coulees in the ‘90s and we had quite a limited trail network.”

One of the main access points was Six Mile Coulee where cyclists would access the coulees and ride toward Fort Whoop-Up.

“Now today it’s expanded immensely and you see this growing trail network and there’s so many user groups out there. It’s wonderful to see,” Bomhof said.

As a rider, he says Lethbridge has “a wonderful resource” in the river valley and being a coach, he sees a lot of young riders who are excited and having physical opportunities for recreation in the coulees.

“We need to have good trails for riders to enjoy the experience,” he said. A lot of young riders don’t have the strength yet to get up steep hills so he would like to more sustainable trails that let kids enjoy their experience more in the coulees which would hopefully create more interest and sustainability in the sport of riding.

The partnership came about after the LTA objected to plans to bulldoze the Six Mile Coulee which has one of the trails that brought a lot of people into the sport, he said.

“It would have been a shame to see that go so now working with the City hopefully we can create these trail networks that will for everybody, work for all the user groups,” including mountain bikers, runners, photographers, hikers and others who use the trail system.

His words echoed those of the speakers.

In June of 2023, council unanimously adopted in favour of adopting a newly sanctioned network of single-track trails in the river valley, Paladino said, calling the partnership “a significant milestone in the ongoing vision of a sustainable river valley trail network. The LTA has proved to be a dedicated community group committed to a sustainable trail network, and by working with the City to ensure a balance of needs of all trail users, the LTA partnership will support many benefits to the community including protecting sensitive areas, promoting recreational activities and better informing and educating the public about responsible trail use.”

The river valley is a defining feature of the city which has more than 1,700 hectares, or 4,300 acres of land, Paladino said.

Somerville told media the City has more than 114 kilometres of pathways in the river valley alone, including 31 kilometres of the current sanctioned natural single track trails that make up the river valley trail network.

In 2023, the Parks department presented a proposed trail network that it put together with the LTA and since approval by council, those trails have now been sanctioned as part of the formal network, he said.

“Those trails represent recreational opportunity for all users; it’s for trail runners, hikers, mountain bikers, families, photographers and active nature lovers. It’s really for everyone,” said Sommerville.

The partnership celebrates the value of the network for everyone to use, he said.

A long-term vision is in place and its sustainability can’t be achieved without the support of the LTA, which is a group of dedicated volunteers who advocate for all city trail users and the trails themselves, Sommerville added.

The agreement outlines the LTA role and clearly defines it as “stewards of the trails, to help with the maintenance and the long-term care of the trails” and it also outlines their roles as advocates as well, he added.

The river valley trails can be found in the Bull Trail Park and from Indian Battle Park to Six Mile Coulee. While a lot of trails exist, the partnership will be looking at sanctioning other trails but there are no plans to build additional ones.

“We’re utilizing existing trails and then working with the trail alliance groups to maintain those trails, enhance and improve them for safety – erosion mitigation and overall improvement of recreational experience,” said Sommerville.

The addition of way-finding trail signs is also being considered so trails are named properly with proper difficulty ratings and designation.

“We’re very excited to work with the LTA as we continue to improve the trail network in the future,” he said.

One key goal of the partnership is to utilize the LTA’s position in the community to help share the message of sticking to existing trails, going off-trail or creating new ones, he said.

Arnold said in 2015 the Parks department had equipment to dig a path down to the creek in Six Mile Coulee to install a culvert and he was told by the operator there was a plan to bulldoze a path right through the coulee.

“Soon a bunch of us were yelling at the City to stop destroying the single track. Lo and behold, the City listened and the digging stopped and plans changed for the better,” he recalled, saying the LTA was the result of that activity to intervene.