{"id":49333,"date":"2018-05-25T14:42:01","date_gmt":"2018-05-25T18:42:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/huntsville.dopperonline.ca\/?p=49333"},"modified":"2018-05-27T07:05:53","modified_gmt":"2018-05-27T11:05:53","slug":"huntsville-celebrates-hunters-bay-trail-extension-boardwalk-with-ribbon-cutting-ceremony","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/huntsville-celebrates-hunters-bay-trail-extension-boardwalk-with-ribbon-cutting-ceremony\/","title":{"rendered":"Huntsville celebrates Hunters Bay Trail extension and floating boardwalk with ribbon-cutting ceremony"},"content":{"rendered":"

Main photo: Among those celebrating the grand opening of the Hunters Bay Trail extension were trail advocates Steve Alcock (in front, third from left) and Don McCormick (in front, second from right), Mayor Scott Aitchison (in front, third from right), The Great Trail’s VP of Resources Simone Hicken (right), and members of Huntsville Council<\/em><\/p>\n

It’s one of the most unique parts of Canada’s The Great Trail<\/a><\/span>, formerly the TransCanada Trail, a network of 24,000 kilometres of trails that spans the country, and it’s right here in Huntsville.<\/p>\n

An extension to Hunters Bay Trail closed a gap in the national trail network and added another 840 metres of trail for local residents and visitors to explore. It includes a floating boardwalk that passes beneath Highway 11 to connect East Airport Road to Lakeshore Road, and offers hikers a new perspective of Hunters Bay.<\/p>\n

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The section of trail was completed in the fall and opened for just a few weeks before it had to be closed again to allow for Highway 11 snow plow operations under an annual agreement with the MTO. It is open again and was celebrated by the Town of Huntsville with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on May 25.<\/p>\n

The Great Trail’s Vice President of Resources, Simone Hicken, told Doppler that the new section of trail “has been a gap (in The Great Trail) for probably 20 years. The TransCanada Trail is 25 years old. Even before that I think folks in Huntsville were trying to connect recreational trails all the way back to the ’50s. This was really important for them and important for us.” The section of trail also contributes to Huntsville’s active transportation efforts, providing residents who live on the west side of Highway 11 a safe means to walk or bike to the centre of town.<\/p>\n

Hicken added that the most difficult sections of the trail to complete were ones like the one in Huntsville, where it wasn’t just a matter of funding but of seeking the appropriate approvals and permissions. “We had about 150 gaps to close in the last four years and this was one of them and it’s one of the only floating sections of trail in Canada.” A $75-million campaign ensured that all of the gaps in the trail were closed last year for Canada’s sesquicentennial.<\/p>\n

The Great Trail has been one of the largest volunteer initiatives in Canada over the last 20 years, said Hicken.<\/p>\n\n\t\t