Happier trails in Central Alberta

Good news indeed that Alberta Transportation changed its mind, and will support shared-use trails along selected highways.

I have always wondered, as I pedalled along some rather narrow highway shoulders, heavy trucks whizzing past me at close range, why building a bike trail across the ditch closer to the fence lines should be opposed on the grounds they're not safe.

Likewise, it's good news that the federal government will chip in a dollar for every two dollars local groups can raise to build and maintain these off-highway links between communities.

This truly is a case of build-it-and-they-will-come. Not to mention becoming a fitness, recreation and tourism legacy for the future.

The web site for the TransCanada Trail says their ongoing trails building project is about 72 per cent complete. Some 17,000 km of trails, linking hundreds of communities all across Canada has already been built and is in use.

The entire 24,000 system is being planned for completion by 2017, but much of the remaining 6,500 km that would fill gaps in the network cost-to-coast will be the most difficult sections to build. There's still a lot of work to do.

Because Alberta has a long north-south section as well as an east-west section, we have the largest provincial portion of trail to complete. It's not hard to see why Alberta also has the smallest percentage of its trail network finished.

That's part of the reason the announcement Tuesday by Alberta Transportation not to oppose trail building along selected routes that follow highways is such a good thing.

First, it lowers costs tremendously. The routes are already in place, and no private land needs to be ceded or purchased by groups like the Central Alberta Regional Trails Society. And, for a cyclist planning a day-long or weekend spin to a nearby town, the route is already obvious on a map.

Right now, the society is working hard to get a trail link from Red Deer to Springbook. That would be a really nice afternoon ride for a recreational cyclist, but more importantly it would be a safe route for commuters who live in one community, but work in the other.

The ability to ride from Springbrook to Red Deer and back is not the barrier many non-cyclists think it might be. The perception of safety is. Hwy 2A is a nice stretch of road, with a broad shoulder, but it is also always heavy with traffic.

In my experience, you ride it because it's the only link to someplace that's much nicer to ride.

Similarly, the route from Penhold to Innisfail goes through some very nice terrain. A lot more people would ride or hike the route, if they could feel safe.

Drivers on Hwy 2A would also feel a lot more safe, not having to encroach the oncoming traffic lane, while they pass a cyclist (or a group of cyclists).

One of my personal favourite day trips begins in Benalto, with lunch at either Spruce View or Markerville. It's a lovely ride on very good roads, with not a lot of traffic.

If there was a safe link between Red Deer and Sylvan Lake (which would have to include safe passage across Hwy 2), that ride would become an epic loop, partly on trails, partly on secondary roads.

For me, that would involve a lot more Sunday lunches. Include trail links from Bowden to Red Deer (the longer-term plan being proposed), and now you're talking tourism and bed-and-breakfasts.

Think safe, pleasant trail links from Bowden all the way to Wetaskiwin and Pigeon Lake — all supported by local volunteer groups — and you're thinking of a tourism resource that can add real value to local economies.

Consider Rocky Mountain House, with a wilderness trail all the way to Nordegg, and you're thinking return visitors.

Europe is totally criss-crossed with these trails, beside highways and rail lines, following rivers, crossing farmlands. I've ridden well over 1,000 km of them over the years.

I know people in Europe who would be thrilled to consider a bike trip through the West. Time a trip with a local rodeo, fair or music festival and you've got yourself a destination for visitors who would happily pay for the experience.

Our easy access to the Rockies puts these experiences in closer contact with millions of visitors annually, who could be lured into a side adventure.

All it takes is that people in authority say yes to the idea. Like Alberta transportation minister Wayne Drysdale did Tuesday.

Make it safe, make it pleasant, make it fully-connected and easy to find, and I believe people will be truly surprised at how quickly it grows in popularity. Happier trails.

(Note: Greg Neiman is also president of the the Red Deer Association for Bicycle Commuting, a group that advocates for a more bike-friendly region.)