PEMBROKE — On Wednesday, June 28, County of Renfrew Council passed a motion recommending that the 219 km Algonquin Trail portion of the Ottawa Valley Recreation Trail (OVRT) be designated as multi-use, which includes all methods of self-propelled transportation, as well as horseback riding, snowmobiles, ATVs and side-by-sides as defined by the Off-Road Vehicles Act, O. Reg 316/03, s. 1, as amended. The motion includes a provision that the County would consider bypass/twinning alternatives presented by local municipalities that are prepared to support and fund them.
This motion follows the original intent of the use of the corridor and provides direction on the future use of the Algonquin Trail within the Management Plan.
Partnering with Lanark County and Papineau-Cameron Township, the 296 km OVRT corridor stretches from Smiths Falls to Mattawa. Renfrew County hosted six public open houses in the fall of 2016, many comments were received about motorized versus non-motorized use of the trail. With the passing of this motion the County of Renfrew joins its partner municipalities who have also declared their sections to be multi-use.
Branch trails or bypasses could be designed to encourage specific use (e.g. motorized) and would consequently enable some sections of the main trail to become non-motorized while still offering a continuous motorized trail. The trail corridor passes through 10 municipalities within the County and the City of Pembroke and will form the “spine” of a future County-wide trail network as contemplated in the County of Renfrew Trails Strategy.
Chair of the Algonquin Trail Advisory Committee and the Development & Property Committee, Councillor Bob Sweet stated, “The County Council resolution enables the County to move forward with the creation of a Management Plan and also allows the local municipalities to explore options for use in their jurisdiction.”
Warden of the County of Renfrew, Jennifer Murphy expressed, “This is a great milestone to see sections of the Algonquin Trail being open for the public to enjoy this fall.”
The County of Renfrew, along with its Partners, has engaged the Ontario Trails Council (OTC) for the creation of a Management Plan for the entire trail. The OTC will be reviewing all public comments supplied through the open houses, emails and phone conversations. The completion date for the Management Plan is August 31.
The County of Renfrew will be working on a number of sections of the Algonquin Trail (Petawawa, Renfrew and Arnprior and with proceeds from the Zombie Run a portion of the trial in Pembroke) throughout the summer and fall to make the necessary improvements to start opening the trail to the public.
