Chris Lowrey
PONTIAC Aug. 23, 2017
Several portions of the PPJ Cyclopark have been vandalized by those who have been using motorized vehicles on the bicycle-only trail.
The vandalism includes broken gates and tire marks ground deep into the trail.
The 92 km stretch of trail was built on the old Pontiac Pacific Junction railroad tracks to give cyclists and hikers an exclusive pathway to explore the region.
No motorized vehicles are allowed on the PPJ, which means that motorbikes, ATV’s and trucks are not allowed on the trail.
According to MRC Pontiac spokesperson Danielle Belec, the vandalism isn’t concentrated in one specific area of the PPJ.
“Well, there’s vandalism all over,” Belec said. “Vandalism is not a new issue, it’s just that there seems to be a rise in vandalism this year.”
On top of that, Belec said that the MRC has received several complaints about near misses with motorized vehicles on the trail from cyclists.
“We’ve received a lot of [complaints],” Belec said. She added that it is difficult to say how many they have been received since complaints are generally split between the MRC and the Sûreté du Québec.
“It’s part of the Route Verte,” Belec said. “It’s a cycling network in Quebec.”
Belec said that the MRC gets $145,000 per year to spend on maintenance of the trail.
Asked whether motorized vehicles using the trail could impact the maintenance funding, Belec was blunt.
“Absolutely,” she said.
She said the main concern of the MRC is the potential for someone to get hurt.
“It’s absolutely unsafe to let motorized vehicles on a cycling route,” Belec said.
There is a bylaw on the books that would see a first-time offender receive a $250 fine and a $500 fine for the second offence. But Warden Raymond Durocher said the threat of fines doesn’t appear to be working.
“Obviously, the threat of fines alone is not enough to keep motorized vehicles off the path,” he said in a press release. “We can’t be everywhere all the time, but we can be in some places some of the time, and it’s time to take action.”
