Donald
Teuma-Castelletti
CAMPBELL’S BAY
Nov. 22, 2017
A general information meeting was held by the Green PPJ group last Wednesday, offering attendees a chance to find out what they’re about and initiatives they’ve taken since their inception last year.
Meeting at the SADC Pontiac office in Campbell’s Bay, around 15 people – made up of group members, concerned citizens, an MRC employee and local tourism directors – joined together to discuss their concerns and enforce the goal of the group, which is to promote and protect the PPJ for its current uses.
The Green PPJ remains concerned that the biking and hiking trail is threatened by ATV riders, but also by a lack of maintenance to the route. They believe it will be hard to promote the PPJ when there are sections in need of repair, as well as an issue in quality of materials used.

The group was most surprised by Pontiac Snowmobile Drivers’ Association president, Alain Goulet, joining them. As he explained, the current mandate of the trail protects their winter use as well, because they cannot use the path if it is worn down or torn up by ATVs.
Goulet said that simply, snowmobiles and ATVs do not mix. ATVs tear up the path, which means the path becomes uneven once the snow falls, and potentially inaccessible to snowmobilers.
The meeting began with Green PPJ member Remo Pasteris providing a history to the group, as well as their previous actions and the future for the group.
Pasteris said that he was impressed with the amount of work they’ve done already, including providing maintenance recommendations, promotional efforts for the trail and attempting to keep an open discussion on the state of the trail with the MRC.
The maintenance report for the PPJ was pointed to as an aspect of pride for the group. While riding, pictures and feedback were compiled by some group members, highlighting a need for repairs or potential issues in the future. One large issue was the switch from stone dust to gravel use along the trail – this material has made it more difficult to ride on in sections of the PPJ, and was agreed to be a turnoff for riders who come from further away to enjoy the trail.
Recommendations that come from discussion following this portion included setting up a form of signage along the trail to inform riders of what services they can expect in the upcoming town; build more allies and cooperation between cyclists, neighbours to the trail and other current users; and to approach new mayors to confirm their commitment to maintaining the PPJ as a cycling trail.
The MRC’s budget for the trail in the upcoming year was briefly discussed, though it was noted that since the budget meeting had been held that same morning, a clear breakdown wasn’t with them for the meeting.
Tiziana Fortin-Rompelberg also joined the meeting and was there to represent Les Amis du PPJ, discussing their efforts to promote use of the trail over the summer. She discussed her bike rallies that took place once a month from May till October, plus shared the groups plans to adjust those rides for the 2018 season.
The meeting was chaired by group member Lynne Lavery and the meeting took the form of an open discussion. Attendees were welcome to ask questions or share thoughts throughout the meeting.