Trail management plan proposal reveals regional trail issues

Jeff Green | Jul 28, 2021

The draft management plan for the K&P sparked a wide variety of comments from members of Frontenac County Council last week.

Members of Council did not focus on the cost estimate that was appended to the plan ($115,000 per year), but focussed instead on trail issues in their own backyard.

South Frontenac Council member Alan Revill, said that the plan assumed that the dividing line on the trail, between motorised and non-motorised use, is the trailhead at Bellrock road at the south end of Verona, “which has not been decided yet, so perhaps the plan should refer to Craig Road” (north of Verona).

Central Frontenac Councillor Bill Macdonald, said that the plan will need to accommodate people in Central Frontenac who use the trail to access their year-round or seasonal properties and have been using trucks and cars on sections of the trail for decades.

“Those uses will need to be accommodated somehow, even though they are not included as the types of vehicles that are allowed on the trail. Please keep this in mind when the trail comes to the North,” said MacDonald.

North Frontenac Mayor Ron Higgins noted that the draft plan includes $100,000 for a trailhead in North Frontenac.

“We have a very nice trailhead already. Can we use the money to develop a side trail off the K&P instead of a trailhead,” he asked.

“We can talk about that when we get down to more details about North Frontenac,” said Joe Gallivan, who presented the plan to Council.

Central Frontenac Mayor Frances Smith, said that when the K&P Trail was originally being considered, “we thought it would be used by residents mostly, but the number of tourists who are using it now makes it a different matter. I think we are going to have to look at user pay, probably in the near future.”

Even Frontenac Islands Mayor Dennis Doyle, had something to say, even though the K&P Trail does not extend across Lake Ontario to Wolfe Island.

On pages 41, 67, and 84, the plan talks about a cycle trail on Wolfe Island, linking Marysville with Horne’s Ferry to New York State.

“We looked at that for a few years, at Frontenac Islands Council, and decided that in the end we do not want to promote any more bicycles,” he said. “Instead of running a train across Wolfe Islands to transport goods, they ended up building a canal instead and lots of lumber and minerals floated through the canal at one time. I think you should bring back a reference to developing the canal as a water trail for kayaks and canoes, and maybe small motorised vehicles. We have already put maybe $100,000. aside in Frontenac Islands to kick start that project.”

“The draft plan is being posted at Engagefrontenac.ca for a month for more comment from the public,” said Joe Gallivan, and then it will come back to Council in September or October.

The budgetary implications, if it is adopted, will be incorporated into the 2022 county budget.