The local powers that be have decided that it’s in our county’s best interest to investigate whether the PPJ trail, which is currently designated as a cycling path, can accommodate ATVs in the summer months. A committee of five mayors was appointed to study the subject at the last MRC council meeting on April 17.
This is an issue that was examined by the previous council in 2016, who set up a committee to look at ditches and over-width sections of the trail that could accommodate ATVs. The committee then put out a petition to allow ATVs on the trail, which was met with the ire of local cycling activists and snowmobile clubs.
Following the previous council meeting, Pontiac Warden Jane Toller explained that they had explored alternative routes with the ATV Clubs, and weren’t able to traverse a section around Waltham.
Locals are right to question how much the PPJ is currently used. It’s hard to argue that 92 kilometres of isolated trail brings in tourist spending that’s anywhere near equivalent to the $250,000 that’s spent on maintaining the route each year. Local cycling groups and exercise nuts make good use of the PPJ, as well as snowmobilers in the winter, but to be diplomatic, there is room for improvement.
But it’s doubtful that ATVs are the solution.
First off, half of the $250,000 upkeep envelope comes from the province in the form of Route Verte funding, which is exclusively for non-motorized trails (the other half comes from the MRC). Is there a comparable fund for motorized trails?
ATVs would do more damage to the trail than bicycles, requiring a heftier maintenance bill. Are trail passes and other revenue streams enough to cover those kinds of expenses?
What are the upsides of adding less than 100 kilometres of trail to the existing quad network? What are the costs? Is there really a lack of back roads and existing trails that off-road enthusiasts can enjoy?
It seems like both sides of this issue, the quad clubs and the cycling activists, have been talking past each other, neither yielding in their ideal vision for the route. It’s true that ATVs might bring in more tourism dollars, but creating a multi-use trail from the PPJ will be difficult and expensive, if it’s possible at all. Are the potential gains worth it?
It remains to be seen what will come of this newfound focus on the trail, but if past discussions are anything to go by, the newly appointed committee has chosen to tread some difficult terrain.
Caleb Nickerson
