OLIVER PAIPOONGE — An expanding recreational trail in and around Thunder Bay has added a few more kilometres to its network amid an obstacle to establish routes in one rural municipality adjacent to the city due to liability concerns.
The Northwestern Ontario Recreational Trails Association announced this week it has completed a 2.5-km section along the north easement of Broadway Avenue between King Road and 25th Side Road.
"This new trail is part of our proposed Kakabeka Falls Trail connecting Thunder Bay and Kakabeka Falls, as well as our Shabaqua Trail further west," the association said in a news release.
The association has so far completed 50 km of trail, with a goal to eventually establish a 400-km network.
The aim is to "essentially create a hiking trail from Nipigon to Atikokan and Minnesota, with Thunder Bay being a hub," association president Len Day said.
"Considering we started actual trail-building in mid-August of 2023, we have been able to provide a fairly substantial amount of trails in a short period of time," Day said.
Despite gains elsewhere, including Thunder Bay and Conmee, the association has been unable to convince the Municipality of Oliver Paipoonge to allow the trail to mark Rosslyn, Harstone and Luckens roads in any official sense, such as the erection of trail signs.
Oliver Paipoonge Mayor Lucy Kloosterhuis said the municipality's insurance company has advised against doing do, saying it could expose the municipality to injury-related lawsuits.
"We are not going to do that to our taxpayers," Kloosterhuis said on Wednesday.
Day said occasionally including roads in the trail network "is not our preferred option, it is common practice across Canada where alternatives do not exist."
"In the interim," Day added, "as these roads are public, and available for public use, this route will be indicated as an unofficial option until such time that we may satisfy council's concerns or find alternative route options."
The association's project has been approved by the Trans Canada Trail (TCT). Envisioned in 1992, the TCT has been called "the longest multi-use trail system in the world."
The Chronicle-Journal / Local Journalism Initiative