Dear Editor:
A while ago a small group of volunteers launched an ambitious project known as the 鈥淧athway to the Park鈥�, to create a comfortable 3-meter-wide, multi-use asphalt trail with a painted yellow line on which you could bike all the way from Hinton to Jasper National Park.
You can just imagine the fantastic mountain views along the way. And the idea was to include strategically placed picnic tables as well as rest benches and, ideally, lots of interpretative signs providing cultural, historical and environmental awareness along the trail. And it鈥檚 not just bikes, or Jasper.
This trail also has great possibilities for winter use as a ski, fat-bike, snowshoe or walking trail. And it would include many options for side trips including: the Brule Sand Dunes and Lake, Wild Horse and Kinky Lakes and lots more. What鈥檚 more, it would improve traffic safety, for cars as well as bikes, by getting cyclists off Highway 16 and onto a trail of their own.
Recently a non-profit society was incorporated to begin work on this project. This society is named the West Yellowhead Trail Society and the following board of Directors were elected: Garth Griffiths (President), Bernie Kreiner (Vice-President), Marie-Soleil Pinet (Treasurer), Jason Griffiths (Web Development/Design) and Stuart Taylor (Secretary). The first topics on the board鈥檚 agenda were trail location and fund raising. And we understand the need to break the project into manageable chunks.
Eventually the idea is to have a trail between Hinton and Jasper. But the Board of Directors will work on stage one of the project first 鈥� a 24 km trail between Hinton and the boundary of the Park 鈥� hence the 鈥淧athway to the Park鈥� name.
Anyone who has ridden or walked the Canmore to Banff or Westridge (Invermere to Fairmont) trails can readily see what this 鈥淧athway鈥� would look like and how popular it would be. And it is doable; the Invermere to Fairmont trail is similar trail in length and cost approximately $9 million for the trail, washrooms, parking areas, picnic areas and the considerable upfront planning costs, with the funding coming 50-50 from private and government sources. And the 鈥淧athway,鈥� like well-managed similar projects elsewhere, will encourage residents, businesses, local governments and citizens to participate in any way they find meaningful; if you hike or bike one of them you鈥檒l have noticed that every kilometer seems to have a sign recognizing some individual or business effort in the project.
Hinton may be a small town in a big world. But we certainly have the volunteers and talent to create a great project at a reasonable price. We are assembling a list of volunteers who can provide expertise, labour or money for the Pathway. So anyone who is interested should please contact Garth Griffiths at 780-865-3354 or [email protected].
What a great way to move past the pandemic by opening a Pathway to and from our towns and region.
Stuart Taylor, Hinton
