As a longtime subscriber to The Telegram and a retired provincial park officer/manager, I have been reading the articles and letters to the editor regarding the trail system in St. John’s.
Some people want to make these trails multi-use — in other words, for bikes, walking and so on. There are even plans to widen trails to accommodate all user groups.
I was involved with designing various types of trails and maintaining and monitoring them for over 35 years within the provincial parks system. During the course of my career, I dealt with and handled thousands of complaints from various user groups.
For example:
• Hikers complaining that cyclists were driving too fast and/or were sneaking up on them.
• Cyclists complaining that hikers were walking in the middle of the trail or three or four abreast on the trail.
• Skiers complaining that snowshoers and hikers were destroying groomed ski trails.
• Hikers and snowshoers complaining that skiers were going too fast on hills and startling them.
• Hikers, bikers, skiers, snowshoers complaining about dogs not on leashes or that leashes were too long.
ln my opinion, multi-use trails are just not practical and trails should be designated for specific users — in other words, hiking only, cycling only, skiing only, dog-walking only.
I could write a book around the injuries to users caused by dogs, and several chapters would be devoted to the poor dogs who received injuries from trail users and/or wildlife.
ln my opinion, multi-use trails are just not practical and trails should be designated for specific users — in other words, hiking only, cycling only, skiing only, dog-walking only.
If specific trails are not possible, perhaps a timing system could be implemented — so, daylight to 9 a.m. for dog walking, 9 a.m. to noon for pedestrians, etc., or specific days of the week for various activities.
I have read with interest and chagrin the letters and articles in The Telegram regarding the widening of trails to accommodate various users.
My main base of operations throughout the year was Butter Pot Provincial Park on the Trans-Canada Highway near Holyrood.
In a normal year, Butter Pot Provincial Park closes and locks its gates from mid-September to mid-May the following year. This closure then provides various users — hikers, cyclists, etc. — with endless trails and an excellent road system to enjoy.
Notice I said “road system” — most of it a wide, two-lane road.
That wide road system certainly didn’t stop the complaints from the aforementioned users. Why would widening walking trails in St Johns achieve anything?
Over the years I put a lot of time and effort into educating and informing the various user groups in proper trail technique/etiquette — for example, cyclists stay single file on hills, keep to the right, hikers single file on hills, keep to the left, etc.
I met and educated and informed many wonderful people, and some of them taught me a thing or two! Ninety-nine per cent of these various users were wonderful people, but one per cent were of a, shall we say, a different breed. Let’s call them “maskless.” These maskless people provided me with lots of challenges and sometimes adrenalin rushes.
During my career I was also manager of a large section of the T’railway Provincial Park (the former old train railbed). I was told at one time that the T’railway was to be a multi-use trail — quads, snowmobiles, hikers, skiers etc. My only reply was, if vehicles and pedestrians can get along so well, why do we have sidewalks?
Happy hiking, biking, snowshoeing and skiing to all users, and thanks for the memories and wonderful experiences.
Good luck with the trails.
Keith W. Brown
Mount Pearl
