Trans Canada Trail pitches trail network through Saint John

The Trans Canada Trail has finished charting its route through Saint John, as part of its wider plan to connect Canada's national trail by the country's 150th birthday in 2017.

The organization is presenting the route, approximately 47 kilometres of trail, to Saint John council on Monday night, along with its projected costs for maintenance and installation.

It includes a combination of bike lanes (9.7 kilometres), shared vehicle/cycling lanes (32.1 kilometres), off-road trails (5.6 kilometres) and short lengths of single file vehicle/cycling lanes.

Poul Jorgensen, the executive director of the New Brunswick Trails Council, said charting the route in the city was a challenge.

"We had to pick routes that are safe for cyclists and we have to ensure that the routes we choose is not too heavy of traffic," Jorgensen said Monday on Information Morning Saint John.

The trail has to mainly run on street right-of-ways, given the lack of ownership of connected lands elsewhere, he said.

Low traffic, quiet roads

"It was almost impossible to get private landowners to agree to the trail through their backyard," said Jorgensen.

"The reality is there are too many residences, so we chose routes that are basically beautiful scenery, low traffic as much as possible and that connect through the parks and stay off the road as much as possible."

The proposed route starts on Westfield Road and continues to Bay Street, Manchester Avenue, Manawagonish Road, Main Street West, Simms Corner, Bridge Road, Reversing Falls Bridge, Douglas Avenue, Chesley Drive, Bentley Street and onto Harbour Passage.

The route continues to Station Street, City Road, across the Highway 1 pedestrian bridge at Stanley Street, Wright Street, Gooderich Street, Mount Pleasant Avenue, and through Rockwood Park, Ashburn Road, and to Rothesay Road.

The trail would split in one section, with eastbound cyclists using Chesley Drive and westbound cyclists using Bentley Street and Douglas Avenue.

Continuous cycling route

Planners say the trail will mainly appeal to those seeking a continuous route for cycling.

Some streets along the route lack sidewalks, however, future road improvements may take pedestrians' needs into consideration.

"Originally we wanted to get it off the road, get the trail built, but through that process and when we realized we were not going to be successful with that, we'd have to move some on roads, then we really looked at it and said, realistically, what users are going to connect long distances apart," Jorgensen said.

"And what we found was mostly they would be cyclists, and they would much prefer to be on quiet roads anyway."

The roadway connection through the city would cost approximately $32,200 in installation costs, such as traffic control signs, sign posts and traffic paint.

Annual maintenance costs of $24,300 would need to be added to the city's pedestrian and traffic management service operating budgets.

The Trails Council has completed 62 per cent of New Brunswick's proposed 944 kilometre trail route, and is working with the province's Department of Transportation to have it finalized in two years.

Meanwhile, the organization announced a $500,000 gift from Scotiabank on Monday morning. The federal government will match 50 per cent of those funds, for a total of $750,000 in trail-development funding for New Brunswick.

The organization said this money will help the Trans Canada Trail complete a large section of trail, stretching from the City of Dieppe to the Confederation Bridge.

The Trans Canada Trail network is currently 80 per cent connected across Canada, and nearly 19,000 kilometres long from coast to coast to coast