I completed a trail inspection yesterday. Pretty much all good news - very little work has to be done to bring the trails up to standard.
Parking Lot and Access Road - I will be talking to the County Roads manager, and will ask them to grade the road. I would eventually like to get the brush cut, and generally tidy the place up.
Trails - both trails need some minor brushing, and need to have more visible route markers. There are some dead trees adjacent to the trails that need to be cut. There are places where some high stumps need to be cut down to ground level to reduce the tripping hazard. A couple of places need a little shovel work to fill in ruts. Expenses will be minimal - basically, a half-dozen volunteers with a couple of brush saws, shovels, etc. could do it all in a day. The only real cost will be the beer at the end of the day.
Interpretive Signs - all the signs should be replaced, although the posts are in good shape. When we get a little further along in the process, I will get an estimate for signs from our sign shop. Old info I have here (2000) estimated $1600 to replace some, but not all, of the signs, so I would expect it will take around $3000 to do them all. Of particular concern is the vandalized sign in the parking lot. I don't really want to take it down until we have a replacement.
All in all, I was very pleased with the condition of the trails. I'm sure we will be able to access sufficient funding to:
- replace signs and route markers
- purchase 2 brush cutting saws
We need some solid direction about what we want to accomplish, and what uses we will permit. Do we want, for example, to maintain groomed ski trails? Mountain bikes okay? Horses? Ultimately, we will need to develop a trail management strategy - not a big deal, but it gives stakeholders an opportunity for input - the land does belong to Renfrew County residents.
I meet with the Development and Property Committee on Tuesday, and will be addressing this issue with them. I expect we will be supported. I will let you all know, via this blog, what the outcome is and suggest some "next steps".
While I was out there, I cut a few windfalls off the trail - there were, surprisingly, very few. The trails are getting alot of use!
Regards,
Jeff
1 comment:
Thank you kindly for your hard work. The corner with the big downed tree on the blue loop looks awesome. Count me in for a case of beer post-clean-up!
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