Discussion of trestle bridge ‘positive and constructive’

Lockeport mayor says a condition assessment will be carried out following public concerns raised

A public meeting on July 20 called by Lockeport residents concerned and upset with the closure of the historic trestle bridge walking trail by the Town of Lockeport is being described as ‘positive and constructive’ by Mayor George Harding.

Close to 100 people attended the meeting at the Lockeport Recreation Center.

“For us – it’s not just me – there is a whole group of us that use it (the trial) all the time and we don’t think that they (town council) put an importance on this,” resident Darlene MacIntosh, one of the organizers, had said prior to the meeting. “They don’t realize the value it has in our day-to-day lives. It’s very important to our culture.”

A petition signed by more than 300 people was presented to town councillors at the meeting.

MacIntosh said residents are upset that they were not informed by the town that there was going to be a discussion of closing the trail, and they were not included in the discussion.

“It’s just like there was no re- A man and his dog stop by the chain link fence and gate blocking access to Lockeport’s historic trestle bridge walking trail before it was vandalized. Residents of Lockeport concerned and upset with the closure called a public meeting for July 20 where the first steps towards finding a solution to repairing the structure were made. spect for community. We feel very disrespected in that way,” she said. “We just want to be included and together we can work together to keep that open.”

MacIntosh said residents are also upset repairing the trestle bridge walking trail is not high on the list of the town’s priorities. The trestle trail is well used by the community for walking, jogging, fishing and family outings, said McIntosh.

“People bike to work on that trestle instead of driving the road around. It saves them 20 to 30 minutes. For them this is their way into town. It has been that way since I was a little girl,” she said. “In this day and age when we’re trying to get kids off the cellphone and out in the fresh air…we’ve got families that go there for outings and spend the day together and talk to one another instead of sitting in front of the tv. They just don’t realize it’s actually beneficial both mentally and physically. That is priceless alone.”

Erosion of the trail base and the deteriorating conditions of the two trestle bridges that are part of the trail; the former CNR rail line, first prompted Lockeport Town Council to close the trail to pedestrians in May 2017.

“The unsafe conditions at the time were more to do with the sinkholes that were happening,” said Mayor Harding in an interview. While the town’s Public Works staff did fill the sinkholes in, Harding said the town realized it going to keep eroding. “That’s when we decided to put up rock barriers with a sign saying closed due to unsafe conditions.”

Harding said people were still choosing to walk the trail, despite the warning signs, “and we didn’t particularly have a problem with that because the sign was there, unsafe conditions. Then we had some more storms,” creating further erosion, particularly at the entrance to the farthest trestle from town.

“That’s when we got quite concerned about the actual safety of the trestle itself,” he said, adding the town was advised by their insurance company that they were concerned that the rocks and the sign wasn’t enough of a visual deterrent to keep people off the trial.

So, the town put up two, chain link fences at either end of the trail with a gate in both as a forwardthinking measure that would allow heavy equipment to get in there to do repairs down the road, said Harding. “That’s when the public took exception to it.” Twice the fences have been torn down, and the last time, the gates removed and thrown into the ocean.

Harding said the town has been in contact with the province about possible funding to do a preliminary study on the trail. “Every time we look at something we need to have done that is major, we have to have a preliminary study done before we can contract the work,” he said.

A provincial representative attended the July 20 meeting and advised those present that funding is available to do a condition assessment of the trail. Harding said the town will be proceeding with making the grant application.

“Part of the problem is it wasn’t known what the cost would be to make it safe. With this hopefully we will know what the dollars figures are and what needs done,” he said.

Harding said it was decided at the meeting that once the town gets the condition assessment done, another public meeting will be held, the document shared “and go from there.”

The town is also going to install new signage on the trail, further advising users the trestle portion is not maintained, is unsafe and use is at your own risk.