Feature Article September 18, 2002
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K&P Trail debate continuesby Jeff Green The lands of the former K&P rail line, now owned by Bell Canada, have been the source of much debate in South and Central Frontenac. Trail advocates hope they can be purchased by the townships and turned into trails, allowing the Trans-Canada trail to run from Sharbot Lake to Harrowsmith.
Bell Canada has offered the lands to the townships involved at a nominal price, but are not willing to pay any of the costs that could come along with the sale, such as surveys and severances. Bell Canada has been waiting for a response from the townships since late spring. At their council meeting last week, Central Frontenac discussed the matter in an in-camera session, and has subsequently sent back a letter to Bell with a proposal to them.
According to Mayor Phil Leonard, South Frontenac will be coming to a decision on this matter within the next month, so the issue of the K&P trail should be in the forefront of public debate in the near future.
Opposition to the trail has been spearheaded by a group called Frontenac Landowners who published a seven-page statement on the matter on August 16. The statements cover much ground, but one of the main points has to do with the costs. It claims that necessary construction, fencing, and surveys will cost $2.2 million.
It also says that the trail runs through some property that is in use and some that is unusable, mentioning that the trail runs through the elementary school yard in Verona, passes within a few yards of dozens of homes, and at one spot is buried under a 1.5 kilometre swamp. The statement also characterizes trail advocates as dirtbike/snowmobile enthusiasts.
Don Coulter, a K&P trail advocate who has been involved in the establishment of the Cataraqui Trail, which runs from just east of Napanee to Smiths Falls, says our opponents seized on every possible item, and not all the pitfalls they point to are actual.
One example Coulter points to is the matter of fencing. While Coulter concedes there is something called a line fencing act which stipulates that if somebody buys railroad land that runs through someone elses land, they have to maintain fences on either side, he points to a ruling in Ontario from the deputy referee that, As far as the Cataraqui Trail is concerned, we are only responsible for 50% of the cost. Once that was established, the number of people who insisted on fencing off the trail where it ran through their land became minimal.
Coulter concludes that fencing is almost a dead issue. On the K&P Trail, fences could be built, on a shared basis, where they are really needed. Coulter also does not think that an extensive survey is required. The railroad has owned this land since 1876, he argues, and while some of the titles to adjacent lands are not clear, there are very few cases like that.
Bill Bowick, of the Ontario Trails Council, is hopeful that South and Central Frontenac will enter into the K&P Trail, and he sees all the problems as solvable over time. It can take 20 years to put a trail like this together from one end to another. It takes a lot of patience, and it is possible to deal with one piece at a time.
Bowick also thinks Central and South Frontenac Townships have been waiting for other one to take the lead. They both seem to be looking at it and saying you go first. What this needs is someone to take the initiative and commit to making it happen.
The immediate issue facing the two councils involved in negotiations with Bell Canada would seem to be the matter of surveys. If the councils decide the $200,000 worth of surveys must be conducted, and Bell continues to refuse to pay any of the costs, then it is unlikely the councils will buy the land.
If, however, they decide to make the purchase without survey, then the immediate risk to municipal dollars will be minimized. There is no appetite on either council for taking on any major expenditure for trails.
