Dear editor,
According to a recent press release from the minister of environment and climate change, the idea of the proposed Icefields bike trail is based on the Icefields Parkway strategic concept and Jasper and Banff National Park management plans but, oddly enough, we find there is no mention of a separate bike trail in any of these documents.
The strategic concept says merely that Parks would 鈥榚xplore options鈥� for cyclists and the Jasper management plan echoes the same phrase. The Banff management plan proposes to 鈥減rovide 2 km of bike trail between Bow Valley Parkway and Icefields Parkway鈥� to enable cyclists to avoid using the Trans Canada Highway but nothing is suggested that is not already in place with the shoulder on the Icefields Parkway that has been used by cyclists for decades.
Parks Canada says it has learned 鈥榓 lot of lessons鈥� from the Legacy Trail that runs between Banff and Canmore. That鈥檚 odd because the Legacy Trail is only 22 km long and entirely fenced from natural hazards. It is safe from avalanches, mudslides, rockfalls and fast-flowing water; there are amenities at both ends and cell phone coverage. There have been a number of accidents on the trail, but it is easily accessible by ambulance.
How can one compare this 鈥榝amily-friendly鈥� Banff-Canmore trail to an unfenced 107 km bike trail through mountainous terrain with frequent extreme weather conditions and prime grizzly habitat with potentially dangerous wildlife encounters?
We now await the environmental assessment on this surprising plan to spend $86 million of taxpayers鈥� money on what could essentially be a three-month per year one-activity boondoggle. It will be interesting to see how Parks picks its way through the minefield of unmonitored wildlife populations as well as upcoming stipulations of the strategic action plan under the Species at Risk Act to protect the 鈥榯hreatened鈥� caribou herd whose habitat covers more than 20 km of the proposed trail. No doubt the words 鈥榤inimum鈥� and 鈥榤itigations鈥� will figure prominently to help pull the wool firmly over the public鈥檚 eyes.
All that is realistically needed is a good repair job and some limited widening of the present parkway shoulder so experienced bikers can continue to enjoy it.
The money was prematurely allocated in the federal budget for this specific 鈥業cefields Trail鈥� and Parks will fight to keep it, just as those who care about their irreplaceable national parks should fight to stop it.
Jill Seaton
Jasper Environmental Association
