Report to council addresses Millennium Trail concerns

UPDATE: The report has been deferred to the Jan 12 committee of the whole meeting as a courtesy to the Cordicks, and allow them time to review it as they were not made aware of it until Thursday morning.

Council will receive a report at Thursday’s Committee of the Whole meeting, about long-standing concerns with the County’s Millennium Trail, and a request to review the current bylaw regarding its use.

The report from the Engineering, Development and Works department addresses concerns first brought to the committee in December, 2014 including noise, dust, traffic, signage and enforcement.

The report states most of the concerns raised by Barbie and Bruce Cordick, of Wellington, have been, or are being addressed, though revisions may need to be made to the bylaw as future work is planned on the trail in 2017.

The report states enforcement was a major theme throughout their deputation.

“A lot of concerns and issues are ones that are common everywhere, not just on our Millennium Trail,” said Tanya Delaney, the County’s Outdoor Facilities Supervisor, in her report. “Enforcement is needed to continue to prevent incidents from occurring in rural settings like the trail. Achieving this will be a joint effort on the part of law enforcement, as well as residents and users of the trail.”

She noted the PEC OPP detachment has committed to increasing patrols on the trail and working with members of the provincial snowmobile, ATV and vessel enforcement (SAVE) unit, which provides resources and works with partners and enthusiasts to education the public – including RIDE checks and inspections.

With increased presence and enforcement, Delaney notes noise and dust should be diminished.

Since the Cordicks’ deputation in 2014, Delaney notes the County has developed a regular inspection system which breaks the trail into sections, inventories signs and notes trail issues. From April to October, the inspections have been conducted monthly.

“We have identified a number of different sign types needed along the trail and we are working on getting these up,” she stated.

She also noted that since the deputation, the majority, if not all, of the remedial work from the installation of fiber optic line has been completed.