Coal Town Trail controversy
Accident on Coal Town Trail restarts debate
DOMINION — When Bobby Pyke had an ATV accident on the Coal Town Trail three weeks ago, he had no idea the controversy it would later cause online.
“It was like 10:30 at night, and a deer just crossed the trail when I was driving. I was only doing about 15 to 20 (km/h), no more than 20,” said Pyke. “So I braked and turned to the left behind the Dominion Arena.”
He got halfway down the hill and stopped. Figuring he could ride out the remainder of the hill, he let off the brake.
“But I didn't know there was a ditch at the bottom of it,” he said.
When he reached the ditch, he hit a grate at the bottom and was injured. He has since recovered from his accident, which he posted about on the Coal Town Trail group as a warning to others.
The post received messages of support from members of the group, who wished him well and were sorry for his accident. But this week, a post went online on a local Cape Breton blog about the accident.
“Our Mayor and Council were warned repeatedly that injury and death would occur from sanctioning (but not ratified in Council) an ATV trail in residential areas,” Joseph Campbell writes in the post.
“What if it was a kid instead of a deer? What if it was someone walking their dogs on the trail? What if the ATV rider wasn't so lucky?,” Campbell writes.
“They're making it sound like I was speeding and all that other stuff,” said Pyke. “I just posted it to warn people of wildlife.”
Campbell later added an amendment to the bottom of the post saying that he didn't mean to imply anything about Pyke's speed.
The Cape Breton Post spoke to Campbell, who said that he had only intended to report the accident publicly.
“I don't even know (Pyke), I don't have anything against him or ATVs,” said Campbell. “… They're just toys, they're machines. I'm an engineer, I love machines and I love technology.
“I don't have anything against them. I just… they don't belong in a residential community running through sensitive areas and this is what's going to happen.”
Campbell said he wanted to ensure that Mayor Amanda McDougall saw his post, because he feels she should be part of the conversation about ATVs on the Coal Town Trail.
“I've been warning the local Coun. Darren (Bruckschwaiger) and (Mayor) Amanda (McDougall) of many things with what this trail will bring here. This is nothing new. This happens right across the country in every community, the same stuff over and over.”
The Post spoke to Matthew Price, 38, a resident of Dominion near the trail who saw the posts online.
“I don't (ride on the trail) as much anymore but my nephew does all the time and I'd imagine in a few years my son will be doing it too,” Price said.
He thinks those complaining about motorized vehicles on the trail are likely just a small portion of the community.
“They like to complain so this is what they've picked to complain about,” said Price. “It's really like a very small group of people. But the biggest reason they're getting into it now is that they're taking this situation with Bobby Pyke, when he drove off the tracks, and they're turning it into a reason to shut the trail down.”
The Coal Town Trail is roughly 13 kilometres long and stretches from Gardiner Mines through Dominion and Glace Bay to Tower Road. It's a former rail line that has been repurposed to be a multi-use trail.
It was originally owned by the federal government but is now managed by the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. Price said the trail has been used by ATVers since before it became the Coal Town Trail in 2020 and is a main highway for riders.
“There's always going to be a few bad drivers,” said Price. “My opinion is, that trail's there and they're saying it's unsafe for people to be riding on it.
“But on the other hand, if they close it to bikes, the bikers aren't going to stop. What they're gonna do is they're gonna find other ways around and they're gonna be out in the woods and that's where the accidents will happen (instead).”