$600,000 shortfall to complete K&P Trail

Jeff Green | Sep 20, 2017

In a detailed report to Council, Manager for Economic Development Richard Allan outlined the expected costs for completion of the K&P trail between the CN rail crossing at Tichborne to the Sharbot Lake junction with the Trans- Canada trail. He said that “In December of 2016 construction began on the Tichborne to Sharbot Lake portion of the K&P Trail with the support of $247,000 of matching funding from the Canada 150 Infrastructure program (CIP 150)” and at this point about 3.5 kilometres out of the 13.8 kilometre section are complete and there is only about $65,000 remaining in the budget. “It is important to note that this work was undertaken prior to the identification of the final route through the land acquisition process, and the estimated development costs were largely based on developing rail bed in generally good condition to a trail state.

Costs for rerouting of trail bed or in the case of failed land acquisition can be significant, and were not planned for during the project development stage due to the lack of clarity around a final trail route,” Allan said in his report. Now that the land purchases necessary for the completion of the trail are complete and the scope of work to complete the trail is clear, Allan’s report sets out a schedule and costs. It will cost about $300,000 to complete those sections that are straightforward by the end of this year. Three more complicated sections will not be completed until about this time next year, and will cost an additional $355,000. The total budget shortfall sits at $595,000. (The land purchase for the 22 parcels of trail that were located on privately held land are not included in these prices as they came from a $300,000 pool of money that was allocated by Frontenac County Council this past spring. The exact costs of the land parcels that were purchased have not been divulged.)

In a telephone interview Allan said that the numbers in this week’s report are what he called “high level” numbers because a lot of the work depends on the state of the terrain on trickier sections of the trail, but that they will be sufficient to get the trail completed. “I don’t want to be going back to County Council asking for even more money to complete this project” he said. He identified possible funding sources, including the Trillium Foundation, and municipal infrastructure funding for portions of the trail that require road work. But the most likely source grant of funds would seem to be the Trans Canada Trail itself. In March, the federal government committed $30 million over 5 years towards completion and improvements to the national trail. The next application deadline for those funds is September 30. Allan suggested that the county raise whatever amount it must come up on its own through a loan from Infrastructure Ontario. “This is consistent with county policies regarding long term infrastructure. It spreads out the payments and ensures that people who use the trail in the future will help pay the costs instead of the current ratepayers shouldering all the burden,” he said.