A resident trail expert in Kamloops says the permanent closure of the Jack Gregson Trail is not a huge loss.
Doug Smith says the section near Lorne Street East along the riverfront is well used.
“There is a nice portion of riverfront trail that connects the end of Lorne Street East to Kelly Douglas Road there, right where the recycling plant is. But the distance is only half a kilometre that’s really used right now. People walk their dogs or go for a nice stroll down by the river. So it is a loss in that sense.”
But the once-well-used section further east, connecting to Westoby Road and Vicars Road, is now a bit of a mess.
“That section of trail has really fallen into disrepair. And in fact it seemed to be occupied more by homeless people and other people who were not using it in a very healthy way. So a lot of people didn’t want to go through there anymore. So in that sense, it’s not a loss.”
Smith says decades ago, when Columbia Street was the Trans-Canada Highway, the Gregson Trail was a main connector between downtown and Valleyview. But he says there’s now another route for people to walk, run or bike between those neighborhoods.
“A lot of people don’t know that there is a trail extension for the Rivers Trail that follows Lorne Street East, more or less, and goes under the overpasses. And that was built a number of years ago because there wasn’t a connector from the end of the frontage road on Valleyview Drive. But now there is. There is a busy crossing to make there, but it’s a much safer route than it ever was.”
The Gregson Trail is privately owned by CP Rail and the company will be closing it on Nov. 9.
CP will be building a new track there instead to make room for CN Rail to ship coal from Teck mines in the Kootenays. It has refused to give more specifics about its plan, but it says nearby residents can expect to hear noise from heavy machinery and truck traffic – during the day and occassionally overnight – and that people will also notice more dust in the air.
City of Kamloops parks manager Jeff Putnam says there’s nothing the city can do about the trail closing, because it’s on a private right-of-way belonging to CP.
He says the city refers to it as an “informal trail,” and says it’s not part of the official trail network in Kamloops.
“It’s always disappointing for the public when an informal trail does get closed, especially ones that are well used like the Gregson Trail. But it never was meant to be a trail. Often, they do get closed at some point in the future, which is happening now,” Putnam says.
“The city’s never been directly involved with maintenance or signage or anything like that, because it’s always been a private trail.”
(Photo: kamloopstrails.net)
