Another letter decrying the deterioration of BC's Trans Canada Trail

Another letter that Trails BC was copied,this month.

Hon. Kevin Krueger, Minister
Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts
PO Box 9071 Stn Prov Govt
Victoria BC V8W 9E9

Dear Hon. Mr. Krueger:

As the accolades over the fabulous success of the Winter Olympics wind down, I have decided to inform you of our “less-than-gold” vacation experience in BC last year. My hope is that it will contribute to initiatives already underway which might spare other travellers our negative experience.

My husband and I spent a month bicycling the 1200 km from Lethbridge to Victoria, a large part of it on the old railway beds of the Kettle Valley and Columbia and Western Railways. It was a superb adventure except for one glaring problem – the inexplicably poor condition of many trails on the old railbeds! This is despite valiant and continuing efforts by a dedicated group of Trails BC volunteers to maintain the Trans Canada Trail in BC.

I am copying this letter to the relevant BC Tourism managers, regional partners and MLA’s in the hope that my views may help influence some stakeholders with an interest in economic development. I am also copying this letter, along with a $1000 donation, to
Trails BC to recognize their efforts and to underscore how much I hope they will continue their valuable work.

Since our trip last summer, we have had to discourage at least half a dozen eager other couples (as we once were) from following our path. During our trip, we met groups or couples from Vancouver, Quebec, Australia, Denmark, the Netherlands and Germany who felt as perplexed and disappointed as we were. In some cases felt they had been lured on bicycle trips by exaggerated claims on tourist web sites about the trail quality, and they too did not intend to recommend the trip.

While there are fabulous sections, like the wonderfully rebuilt Myra Canyon, there are far more bone-rattling, gouged, or soft, boggy sections. A case in point: just before Myra Canyon is a section from McCullough Station where we had to “portage” our loaded bicycles through dense bush to avoid trail-spanning puddles. Then immediately after Myra Canyon, we came into Chute Lake slithering and sliding on the sandy, beach-like conditions underfoot. From Chute Lake to Penticton, we once again encountered the all-too-familiar teeth-rattling washboard interspersed with soft sand sections that seemed to be the normal surface condition of the trail. No wonder both my husband and I suffered ligament and nerve damage which took almost to Christmas to heal!

Sadly we understand that the extensive washboard and soft surface is the result of increased motorized use of the trails and that “turf” wars are being played out between the motorized and non-motorized groups. Nonetheless, we are still mystified that large sections of the trail would be surfaced using sandy fill. We understand that, in some cases, this is because increased motorized traffic has eroded the surface. But in other cases, sandy material has been brought in to fill holes. Surely it makes sense to use a proper crushed stone aggregate material that will pack down tightly no matter what vehicle use it is subjected to. Clearly, the present approach is not consistent with the Spirit of 2010 goal to transform “railway corridors into multiple use, [primarily] non-motorized recreational trails, producing a world class trail system.”

We have no doubt that the Spirit of 2010’s goal is a worthy one. Activity-centered vacations are booming and the HelloBC web site clearly understands this. Our trip cost well over $6,500 and we would repeat it in a heart-beat if the trails were better maintained. However, this year we will be bicycling in Europe (between Prague and Vienna) and in Quebec (recently named by National Geographic as having the best bicycle trail system in the world.) You can check examples of other disgruntled travellers, and wonder how many others have been discouraged, at:
http://www.kettlevalleyrailway.ca/ (click on news on the left)


Against this situation, the recent fabulous success of the Olympics gives me hope that conditions might change. With the technological innovations and gutsy efforts made to maintain snow on Cypress Mountain, British Columbians are obviously equal to tackling challenges. I am hoping that ways will be found to safeguard the incredible engineering feats that these old railway beds represent. If that happens, we will gladly be back to enjoy BC warm hospitality and incredible scenery again – and a great trail system for the first time!

Yours very truly,



Elspeth J. Nickle
Lethbridge, Alberta

CC
Al Skucas, President,Trails BC
Bill Routley, MLA Cowichan Valley
Bill Barisoff, MLA Penticton
John Slater, MLA Boundary-Similkameen
Hon. Randy Hawes, MLA Abbotsford-Mission
Hon. Barry Penner, MLA Chilliwack-Hope
Hon. Norm MacDonald, MLA Columbia River-Revelstoke
Harry Lali, MLA Fraser-Nicola
Dr. Terry Lake, MLA Kamloops-North Thompson
Norm Letnick, MLA Kelowna-Lake Country
Hon. Steve Thomson, MLA Kelowna-Mission
Hon. Bill Bennett, MLA Kootenay East
Katrine Conroy, MLA Kootenay West
Kevan Ridgway, President & CEO, Vancouver, Coast & Mountains Tourism Region
Glenn Mandziuk,
CEO, Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association
Chris Dadson,
President, Kootenay Rockies Tourism
Bill Marshall, Director, BC Recreation Sites and Trails Branch
John Hawkings, Manager, BC Recreation Sites and Trails Branch
Vera Vukelich, Manager BC Tourism and Land Use
Deborah Apps, CEO Trans Canada Trail
Tim Hoskins, National Director Trails, Trans Canada Trail
Harold Sellers, Western Canada Coordinator, Trans Canada Trail
Outdoor Recreation Council of BC
Capital Walk & Bike Society