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Bad News Concerning Powassan


bbakernbay

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anyone can go out tomorrow and buy a sled and hit trails with no education. 

Some may not realize they are doing any harm and could be following tracks of someone else. For instance

Last year when I was in Mattawa I had a chat with owner of resort after things quited down. I learned the pipeline trail is owned by a bunch of different property owners, one being this resort. People treat the trail like it is Wild West and boon dock all over the place. Even I had no idea it was privately owned and utility company just has a right away lease. Now I will treat that trail with more respect too. 

Bottom line is you have to assume everything is privately owned, unless you know the area and stay on trail. 

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On 11/25/2017 at 10:33 AM, 02Sled said:

Another thing I do is thank our groomer operators. I pick up a bunch of Tim's gift cards good for a coffee and a muffin. When I come across a groomer on the trail I stop and give them a card. Some of the groomer operators are volunteers and some are paid. Either way none of them are getting rich running long hours often through the night.

Great way to show your appreciation!   Need something for land owners as well.....

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  • 4 weeks later...

https://www.northbaynipissing.com/community-story/8016958-powassan-snowmobile-trail-could-open-in-2019/

 

Powassan snowmobile trail could open in 2019

Trail will travel along the edge of a 50-foot drop

CommunityDec 20, 2017by Laurel J. Campbell Almaguin News

 

POWASSAN — Council has approved the use of some unopened road allowances for snowmobiles, but sledders won’t be seeing access for a year or more.

During its Dec. 19 meeting council voted in favour of a new bylaw that would allow the South Shore Restoule Snowmobile Club to establish a snowmobile trail on the understanding that the club will assume all responsibility for the construction, maintenance and use of the trail and for any liability arising out of the use of the unopened road allowances.

The new trail will run east of Loxton Line between Concession 8 and Concession 9, travelling between Lots 11, 12 and 13 then south between Lots 10 and 11, Concession 5, 6, 7, and 8.

 

Snowmobile club president Diane Tregunna said she was “really pleased” that council had finally made the decision.

“I know it’s going to be a lot of work, but it will be worth it,” Tregunna said.

She estimates the cost of building the trail along the unused land could cost between $300,000 and $400,000.

“I’ll start right now working on the costs and apply for the funding by June. Then we have until March 31, 2019 to use all the money and finish the work. So, it might not be open next year, but we should be ready for 2019.”

The use of the road allowances has been under discussion for several seasons since land owners pulled their consent to use private property to link areas of the municipality to the provincial trail system.

With adoption of the bylaw, the municipality has more or less washed its hands of any further responsibilities for snowmobile access.

The bylaw calls for the snowmobile club to obtain all permits necessary for any construction that must be done and calls for gates to be placed at certain locations to control access as well as fences.

 

Mayor McIsaac said these conditions had been put in the bylaw because “people don’t want an all season trail.

“We want the snowmobile trail to come into Powassan because of the economic benefits it brings. At the same time we realize that having an all season trail may be an issue with people going through there all the time and able to access private property. Having it gated off would prevent that,” he said.

But Steve Young who owns property in the vicinity of the road allowances being opened voiced concerns about the gating stopping people who now use the allowances to access their own property and hunt camps.

Couns. Ted Weiler, Dave Britton and Marcus Wand all acknowledged that the hunt camps they belong to are along similar trails in other areas and that gating access would be a problem.

“I think that is something that we may have to go back and take another look at,” Britton said.

There was also some concern that the $5 million insurance coverage the club is required to have would not be enough in case of a serious accident.

The proposed trail will travel along the edge of a gravel pit that is estimated to be a drop of 50 feet.

“This trail is going right by that,” said one of the council meeting attendees. “They are going to have to fence that or there will be a big lawsuit because somebody is going to go over the bank.”

These issue are just some of the things Tregunna will have to deal with as the club designs the new trails. A bridge will also need to be built to cross Genesee Creek.

This is the only road allowance being opened in the municipality and all trail construction has to be limited to the 66-foot width of the allowance.

“No matter what obstacles they may encounter they have to stay on the road allowance,” said McIsaac, “unless they can get permission from the private landowners to go around.”

The club is also required to obtain a legal survey showing the limits of the unopened allowances and the location of the snowmobile trails.

Despite being given permission to link the snowmobile trail through Powassan, the club is still left with a major dilemma. Even with use of the road allowances, there is no way for sledders or the groomer, to access the club’s headquarters on Fairview Lane.

“That is still an issue,” said Tregunna, “but I’ll get this trail done first and then work on getting access to our building.”

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Sadly, many trespassers are local.  lots of sleds up here.  Same when you see garbage left on or near the trails.  Those people will never care.  Re all enforcing.  Those type of people will get confrontational.  Most people avoid confrontation.

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6 hours ago, GrizzlyGriff said:

Sadly, many trespassers are local.  lots of sleds up here.  Same when you see garbage left on or near the trails.  Those people will never care.  Re all enforcing.  Those type of people will get confrontational.  Most people avoid confrontation.

Looks like a great trail to take wifey on

50 foot drop just over bank as you pass gravel pit. Insane. 

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4 hours ago, Viperules700 said:

Looks like a great trail to take wifey on

50 foot drop just over bank as you pass gravel pit. Insane. 

Make sure to keep all insurance payments up to date!:argue:

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Congratulations to the club for coming up with a long term solution that uses public lands. This required a lot of time and work - -  and will be expensive - - but the trail will no longer be subject to closure by private land owners.

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28 minutes ago, Blake G said:

Congratulations to the club for coming up with a long term solution that uses public lands. This required a lot of time and work - -  and will be expensive - - but the trail will no longer be subject to closure by private land owners.

Frankly, good thing the town council was not in the Christmas spirit and demanded that gold myrrh and frankincense be thrown in with all the other conditions - the council did not seem to be too welcoming. On a helpful note, here is a solution for those mentioned in the article that worried about their off season access being blocked by the gate to the trail :

 

5a3e436e7b982_gatelocks.jpg.0493e89b3cbb7825b42e93d71950021d.jpg

 

Wonder if the BRP dealer or any of the local merchants and enterprises in town had any input. For between $300,000 and $400,000 might be cheaper to buy a strip(s) of land.

 

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This is great news. The town of Powassan has taken a huge hit business wise since the hwy was opened up. As far as the 50 ft drop, I'm sure the trail will be groomed in such a way that you would have to be a complete idiot to go down the hill. There are lots of areas with similar situations. This area NEEDS this trail. There used to be a north/ South trail farther to the west out of Restoule and South. But it has been closed for years. The other north South trail has a lot of road running just north of Eagle lake. 

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Great news.  Thanks to the South Shore club executives for making this happen.  

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Congratulations to the club exec & members on their success and all the hard work put into this project to date. It's a lot for a club to take on.

Personally I think it's too bad in that it's going to take so much more work and investment to accomplish what should be a given for a snow country town.

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On ‎23‎/‎12‎/‎2017 at 6:36 AM, Blake G said:

Congratulations to the club for coming up with a long term solution that uses public lands. This required a lot of time and work - -  and will be expensive - - but the trail will no longer be subject to closure by private land owners.

Sounds great! Glad to see that a solution has been found.

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