Councillor Wayne Stokley is looking for a compromise regarding the proposed trail near Mill Creek at the Puslinch Community Centre here.
On Aug. 14, council reviewed correspondence from Nathan Garland and Greg Scheifele regarding the proposed trail.
Councillor Stokley noted that council reviewed the matter at a previous council session.
The proposed trail “was not that close to Mill Creek,” he said.
At that time, council asked for another look to be taken to at least provide some focal points.
From what Stokley understood from the correspondence, there was an opportunity to go to the creek in at least one area.
“I am hoping we can pursue that … and perhaps there could be some other areas.”
The creek is a focal point for the trail.
He noted that he had been back in the area himself, and wondered if perhaps a tour could be set up for members of council to get a better understanding of what is back there.
“… to see if we can maybe look at other areas along with the consultants to come up with a compromise everyone can agree to.”
Mayor Dennis Lever said he would be interested in a tour along the proposed route of the trail.
He added he was happy to see the consultant at least took into consideration the idea of a trail spur leading out to the creek.
“I know that you can get to the creek further east, outside the boundary of the municipal property.”
But he agreed with Stokley in that council had envisioned the idea of the trail being closer to the creek.
More detailed design
Correspondence to council however, suggested that bringing the trail closer to the creek would likely require either grading or fill – triggering the need for a permit and a more detailed design and evaluation.
There was also agreement with the idea of a trail spur to a suitable location in addition to educational signage.
However, the belief remained that this was to be a fairly passive low-impact trail which would not require much in the way of additional costs or site preparation.
Reasons offered for why it might not be feasible to locate the trail closer to the creek included the following:
– the wetland occupies much of the forest area and it is characterized by poorly drained soils that are unsuitable for trail development. Although a wooden boardwalk could possibly be constructed through this area it would be very expensive to build and subject to GRCA approval;
– the area in close proximity to the creek is subject to occasional flooding particularly during winter thaws and/or spring snowmelt. At that time, sections of the trail would become unusable and surface treatments such as stonedust or wood chips would be washed away and potentially deposited in the creek channel; and
– having the trail closer to the creek would require substantially more trees to be removed.
If the trail was aligned in close proximity to the creek it would be necessary to remove substantially more trees than is the case with the recommended route which has a minimal impact on the forest.
CAO Karen Landry said the proposed resolution was to include consideration of comments made by council, the GRCA and GWS Ecological Services and the costs of implementing and maintaining a parkland trail were to be discussed further during budget deliberations.
