CALEB NICKERSON
SHAWVILLE Jan. 13, 2020
On Jan. 13, the Friends of the Cycloparc PPJ committee held their annual general meeting in the . . .
basement of the Lotus Clinic in Shawville. The volunteer group has been a tireless advocate of the regional cycling trail, which they work to promote through a variety of activities.
The meeting was chaired by Lynne Lavery, who began by presenting the minutes from the previous year’s AGM and began the activity report for 2019.
Members of the group attended nearly all the monthly MRC meetings in 2019, following the formation of committee of mayors with a mandate to examine allowing motorized vehicles on parts of the trail.
Over the summer, several members organized weekly group rides in Shawville and Campbell’s Bay, as well as a monthly ride in the Waltham area.
The group also put out a business and service directory for the trail, which they distributed at various locations throughout the region as well as at the MRC office in Campbell’s Bay.
In October, Lavery attended the congress of the Association des reseaux cyclabeles du Quebec in Granby, which brought together stakeholders from the government, tourism associations and managers of cycling trails throughout the province. She highlighted the success that other regions have had by investing in cycling tourism, and the need to create a “culture of cycling” with other organizations in the region.
She gave a PowerPoint presentation of the conference to the council of mayors plenary meeting in November, and recommended that the MRC have an employee dedicated solely to the PPJ. She said that she received no questions from the council following her presentation and said that their lack of interest left her feeling discouraged.
She said that she would appeal to the newly announced sports and leisure committee that the PPJ trail should be at the top of their list of priorities.
Two attendees of the meeting, John Petty and Bonnie Tubman, volunteered to become members of the board.
The group agreed to form a committee to discuss the introduction of memberships as a way to raise funds. They also discussed ways to request funding from local municipalites and advocate for the trail at the monthly MRC meetings. They also agreed to add a map of the trail system to next year’s business directory.
