New parking lot coming to Walker Road trailhead
Hikers and skiers on the Tantramar Outdoor Club trails off Walker Road might have been surprised to see tree cutting happening on the site this week near the trail head.
CHMA called up TOC co-president Karin Aurell Wednesday afternoon to find out more about what’s going on:
The cutting is part of a plan years in the works, says Aurell, to build a parking lot near the trailhead to help reduce on road parking congestion and improve traffic safety at the busy spot.
“It is probably a little bit shocking for people who show up there who don’t already know what’s going on,” said Aurell on Wednesday. “So apologies for that.”
“We’ve been talking for several years about the fact that the parking area by the Crooked Tree Trail is dangerous,” said Aurell, “with a mix of lots and lots of cars parking, people running around, dogs running around, and big dump trucks coming from the quarries.”
The town of Tantramar agrees. Active Living Director Matt Pryde told CHMA in January, “it’s been a safety issue for quite a few years now with larger trucks going through there and cars parked all along the street.” This year, the town has plans to remedy the situation with a parking lot.… Continue
Get ready for a jam-packed Winterfest, says Tantramar’s new rec program coordinator
Winterfest is here, and so CHMA called up Jessica Wilson, the brand new programming director for Tantramar recreation and special events, to ask about the festival’s events and her new job:
Wilson is just finishing her fourth week of work for the municipality, taking over for Deanna Cadman, who served in the position for decades. “Everybody has been super welcoming and very, very supportive,” says Wilson. “It’s definitely going to be a year long teaching session because of all of the events and programs that the municipality puts on throughout the year,” she says.
The position is a perfect fit for Wilson, who just graduated from Dalhousie University with Bachelor of Science in Recreation and a Bachelor of Management. “This is definitely exactly what I was looking for,” says Wilson. After a few summers working in municipal recreation in Cumberland County and Cape Breton, Wilson says she “fell in love with it.”
“And I found that working for a smaller municipality is definitely the best because you get to go out and you get to meet the people, and everybody gets to know who you are,” says Wilson. “It makes everything feel so comfy and welcoming, and you just you want to come to work every day.”
Wilson is hitting the ground running with Winterfest kicking into gear this weekend, including the Frosty Outdoor Party Friday night at Bill Johnston starting at 7pm, with fireworks slated for 8pm.… Continue
Pedway group says non-motorized trail is key to funding, but ATV riders want to share access
Sackville’s portion of the Trans Canada Trail was the belle of the ball at Tantramar council’s last regular meeting, with two public presentations asking council to move ahead with plans that would see the trail developed or maintained in different ways.
The Tantramar Pedway Group and Quad NB each put in requests to Tantramar Council, some of which were at cross purposes.
Christina DeHaas and Jeff MacKinnon represented the Tantramar Pedway Group, and told council they’d been working for 15 years on a plan to erect a pedestrian and bike friendly connection across the TransCanada highway, where it bisects the Trans Canada Trail.
Currently, the group has secured a private donation of $1 million to put towards the pedway project, and also has a commitment from Algonquin Bridge, a division of the AIL Group, to build the project at cost, which was estimated at about $3 million a year ago.
DeHaas says other funding possibilities are available, but there’s a commitment needed from the town. “The way to move forward is for council to direct staff to explore the capital funding opportunities that leverage this million dollar commitment that we currently have,” said DeHaas.
Dehaas and the Pedway Group are asking the town to take over ownership of the pedway project, including assigning staff to look into funding opportunities, committing to maintaining and insuring it, and also entering into a land use agreement with the Department of Natural Resources, who own the Trans Canada Trail lands.… Continue
Sports subsidy program halfway through its pilot year, under budget so far
At Monday’s Sackville town council meeting, Councillor Allison Butcher reported on behalf of the town recreation department that just under $12,000 has been paid out to residents so far as part of the Recreation and Sports Subsidy program.
Families can get reimbursed up to $300 per child for fees paid to join Sackville Minor Hockey, the Sackville Skating Club, Tantramar Lacrosse, or the Sackville Swim Club, between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022.
Sackville town council allocated $65,000 for the pilot program in October, after a debate in which some councillors called the program unfair because it subsidized certain expensive youth activities such as hockey and skating, but ignored others with similarly high fees, such as music and dance.
Proponents pointed out that the program is a pilot, and could be expanded to other activities in future.
Sackville recreation director Matt Pryde says that so far, reimbursements have gone out for all sports groups but for Tantramar Lacrosse, which has a spring season.
About 70% of reimbursed fees have gone to families registering kids in Sackville Minor Hockey. About 22% of fees have gone for the Sackville Swimming Club, and just about 7% have gone for the Sackville Skating Club.
Pryde says that 5 skaters, 22 swimmers and 47 hockey players have applied, and that all applications have gone through once all information has been provided.… Continue