K&P Trail Hitting A Rough Patch

Jeff Green | Feb 12, 2014

Building out the K&P trail between the border with Kingston to meet the Trans-Canada Trail in Sharbot Lake has been a goal of several generations of Frontenac County politicians.

Thanks to some provincial grant money as well as an allocation of Frontenac County's share of gas tax rebate money, the trail is now complete as far as Craig Road on the north side of Verona and a work plan has been approved to extend it to White Lake Road in Central Frontenac by the end of 2014

From that point on the project has some hurdles to overcome.

The terrain will become more challenging, and a number of pieces of the former K&P rail line that is being used as the base of the trail have been sold off to private landowners. Although some of the landowners may be willing to grant easements for the trail to pass through their land, there are others who are opposed to the trail passing anywhere near their property.

Added to this impediment, South Frontenac Mayor Gary Davison said at a meeting of Frontenac County Council last week that gas tax funding from the county may be a fleeting source of funds for the K&P Trail.

“I really think that as far as the trail goes, the gas tax needs to be eased up on. There are a lot of needs in the townships besides dumping money on the trail. I think we need somehow to find another funding model,” Davison said.

The county has about $900,000 in gas tax rebate money in a fund, but that money is from accumulated gas tax funds that were transferred to the county by the federal government between 2007 and 2011. Since then the county has been transferring all gas tax revenue directly to the townships and county council is committed to continuing that practice in the future.

Still, the idea of cutting off funding to the trail brought out a seldom-seen combative streak in John Purdon, who represents Central Frontenac on the council.

“Now that the trail is about to reach Central Frontenac, South Frontenac says we can't put more money in. I find that interesting,” Purdon said.

Purdon added that the one major purpose of spending on the trail has been to link up trails that pass through Kingston with the Trans-Canada Trail, which passes through Sharbot Lake.

“It makes no sense to stop now,” he said.

Provincial funding may be available to step into the breach should the county pull away from K&P Trail funding.

Last fall Premier Kathleen Wynne announced a major trail funding initiative aimed at completing the Trans-Canada Trail, which a completed K&P Trail would be part of, as a legacy project attached to the Pan Am Games coming to Toronto next year.