Member Report
It seems that every year gets busier for our Association and 2016 was certainly the
busiest as we tied up loose ends before the Trans Canada Trail Official Connection
this year.
Infrastructure Manitoba Approvals
For whatever reason, even though we had worked hand-in-hand with
the department when we were determining the route of our Trail in
2002, it had never been “officially approved”. So in January 2016, we
started the process of going along every metre with department staff.
Twelve outstanding issues were identified, most of these requiring
distance measurements from provincial roads to our trail. Today, only
two remain. Progress is also being made in regards to our north and
south links, crossing the Red River and PTH 75 respectively. A big
thank you to Trails Manitoba, for their assistance.
Access Points Project
We identified ten locations along our 193-km of trail, where people can park and
access the Crow Wing Trail. At each of these locations is an “Access Point Sign”
and Trans Canada Trail highway signs on adjacent provincial roads (installed by
MI). We are currently working on historical and modern maps of the Crow Wing
Trail that will be part of our trailhead signs at these locations. Crow Wing Trail
raised funds for the design and Trans Canada Trail is covering the cost of the
signs.
Trail Maintenance
Since 2012, we have been matching the Trails Manitoba Maintenance Grant to rent a tractor and
mower (bulldozer when necessary) and pay a few volunteers a modest honorarium to maintain the
entire 193-km of trail. In 2016, in addition to two mowing passes, additional signs were installed
and timely repairs were done following wind storms and river bank slides.
Matching the grant is quite a challenge and our operating fund is quickly
depleting.
(Continued on page 9)
Annual Report 2016-Trails Manitoba p.8