PITCH IN TO FIX TRAILS

One doesn’t have to venture far into Edmonton’s scenic river valley and ravines before noticing that the trail system is heading down a path to ruin. Cracked asphalt and heaved shoulders are marked by purple spray paint. Eroded or flooded trail sections are blocked off with fences and warning signs. Users struggling with ruts, detours and slumps are understandably frustrated by the glacial pace of repairs.

For a city that proudly boasts about its crown jewel of a river valley on every tourism and marketing brochure and website, the deteriorating state of the trail network should be an embarrassment.

To be fair to the city, several years of extreme weather have exacerbated the problem by flooding routes, eroding banks and fracturing asphalt. The sheer size of the system is also a factor. There are 160 kilometres of maintained multi-use trails that staff must monitor once a week for potholes and overgrowth. Beyond that there are also unmaintained paths narrower than 1.5 metres that only get attention if they’re deemed dangerous.

This sprawling network of paved, gravel and single-track nature trails is crumbling faster than city crews can repair it, despite a capital budget for repairs that has jumped to $5.2 million in this four-year budget cycle, up from $1.2 million in 2012-14. The money doesn’t go far because just one project — repairs to a floodedout walkway just south of the Fort Edmonton Footbridge — will eat a quarter of the budget.

But given the popularity of river valley trails — as evidenced by swarms of cyclists, joggers, dog walkers, in-line skaters and pedestrians on any given nice day — surely it is infrastructure deserving of a higher profile and priority when it comes to budgeting.

There is also another, less costly, strategy the city should consider to complement increased spending on maintenance and repairs. Let’s harness Edmonton’s volunteer spirit and people’s fondness for the trails.

Volunteers co-ordinated by the Edmonton Mountain Bike Association are already pitching in on small erosion-prevention projects for trails they have taken responsibility for. Last year, they finished 19 such work bees and have 16 more scheduled or completed this year.

It’s a campaign that easily could be expanded if city bylaws were changed to allow volunteers to build simple bridges over wet spots, or new retaining walls — and additional helpers recruited from neighbourhood associations, hiking clubs or other groups.

Besides taking some of the strain off city repair crews, that approach would also foster an informed and engaged public taking responsibility to care for a beloved resource.