Ribbons, cake and wagon rides at Trail opening in Verona

Aug 14, 2014

Close to 50 trail users and numerous members of staff from the County of Frontenac and Township of South Frontenac, along with other dignitaries attended the festive official opening of Phase ll of the Frontenac K&P Trail, which took place at the bridge at Hardwood Creek in Verona on August 9.

The K& P trail is part of the Trans-Canada Trail in Ontario, which extends over 2000 kilometres and connects numerous communities across the province from Windsor to Ottawa. This phase completes one of the last gaps of the trail in Ontario. South Frontenac Councilor Allan McPhail, who has chaired the County of Frontenac Advisory Committee for Trails, has seen the trail expand from Orser Road in Kingston up to Verona in his four years as chair. Phase ll of the project extended the trail from Harrowsmith in an 11 kilometre stretch to Verona and included the rebuilding of the Hardwood Creek bridge, which had been removed by the trail's former owner, Bell Telephone.

According to McPhail, the replacement of bridges has been one of the major obstacles along the way as they are by far the most expensive part of the rebuilding project. Phase ll was funded significantly through Trans-Canada Trails and the Government of Ontario through the Pan Am/Parapan Am Trails initiative.

MPP for Kingston and the Islands, Sophie Kiwala, congratulated all the parties involved and said that the Frontenac County section of the trail is a great investment. It will not only link up sections of the Trans-Canada Trail but will also connect the trail to four major game venues and will incorporate trail markers at points of historical and cultural significance. "This trails investment is part of the broader $42 million Pan Am/Parapan Am Games promotion celebrations and legacy strategy, which will ensure a lasting legacy and will benefit Ontarians all across the province,” Kiwala said.

Al MacPherson is president of the Kawartha Trans-Canada Trail Association and chair of the board of the Trans-Canada Trail Association. He is a professor and author and is passionate about Ontario trails. He spoke of the inception of the idea to build a Trans-Canada Trail, which came about in the year 1992 at a meeting he was at in Banff, Alberta. “Everyone in the room said yes, but everyone outside that room didn't agree. But now here we are, over 20 years later with the trail 75% complete.” He also spoke of the beauty of this particular section of the trail. He is committed to developing trails because, “They are gateways to nature, to active living and they also help preserve and showcase the natural beauty of this beautiful country of ours.” He credited the communities of Frontenac county that have enabled the Phase ll project to happen.

The next phase of the extension, Phase III, will take place this fall and will include reconditioning the trail up to Cole Hill church located at White Lake Road north of Godfrey. After that the trail will be extended through Tichborne where it passes across private property before finally reaching Sharbot Lake.

Regarding negotiations with the private property owners in that section, McPhail said that the county has been in contact with them through letters and other communications yearly in the hopes of beginning official negotiations in the near future. McPhail hopes that the county will be able to reach an agreement with those property owners so that the trail can proceed with as few obstacles as possible. His message to those property owners, "If the trail is not right beside your home, and you have a large property, please consider allowing the trail to pass through.”

Following the ribbon cutting ceremony guests enjoyed cake and free wagon rides courtesy of Wayne Garrison and his able horse team of Prince and Skittles.