There is a lot of life left in the turtle, the Laughing Turtle Trail that is.
Even though a recent District of Squamish commissioned feasibility study found that completing the 11.5 kilometre riding and walking trail that circles downtown would cost a “prohibitive” $2.27 million, the organizers behind it aren’t deterred in the least.
“That doesn’t worry me at all,” said Meg Fellowes, of the Squamish Trail Society, the proponents of the trail. “I am actually glad that they have put a price tag on it because it gives us an order of magnitude.”
It took two years of planning to get the feasibility study completed, Fellowes added. Now that the trail is on the books at the district, when developments along the trail come forward council can look for opportunities to have pieces completed.
“We will find the money somewhere,” she said.
With provincial grant money, the District of Squamish has completed the Rose Park trail, which is a section of the park, Fellowes said, so she expects pieces of it will be completed as part of other projects the district undertakes.
“There’s a lot of synergisms that will come together and I suspect the physical trail will come together sooner rather than later – I am an optimist,” Fellowes said.
Mayor Patricia Heintzman agrees there will be more opportunities for pieces of the trail to be done.
“Just like the Corridor Trail, we’ve been working on that for 10 years, a little bit every year, and we are slowly getting there,” Heintzman said.
“We will take an opportunistic approach. We will segment it out… I think we can get it to the point we are linking the whole thing pretty well within a couple of years. To get to the ultimate goal is going to take longer.”
As it states on the draft brochure the society has penned, the catalyst for the trail – which is shaped liked a turtle with the body circling the downtown, the feet different attractions and the head the oceanfront lands – was the Bright New Day workshop held as part of Truth and Reconciliation proceedings in February 2012.
Out of the workshop came the recommendation that a Truth and Reconciliation trail be developed in Squamish.
“The circle trail is modelled on the traditional sharing circle with its focus on building enduring relationships through the sharing of stories,” reads the brochure.
The way it is envisioned, the Turtle Trail will ultimately have a way finding component along with interpretive elements.
Fellowes said the interpretive signs and kiosks along the route will incorporate the history, cultures, environment and governances of the many diverse groups that make up the district.
Attractions along the route that will host the interpretive signs include the Squamish Adventure Centre, Howe Sound Inn and Brew Pub, the Sikh Temple, the West Coast Railway Heritage Park and Brennan Park Recreation Centre.
At the Squamish Adventure Centre, for example, interpretive signs could focus on outdoor recreation and the story of forestry and how the valley is put together in terms of trails, Fellowes explained. At Brennan Park Recreation Centre the theme of the interpretive signs could be governance, she said.
“Let’s look at the scope of the municipal government. What is the relationship to the provincial government and what is the relationship to the federal government and what is the Squamish Nation governance?” she said.
Once she has a preliminary interpretive plan put together it will be circulated in the community for feedback, she said.
The interpretive signs are “the appetizer,” Fellowes added.
The signs will offer resources for people to pursue if they want to learn more about the topics raised, she said.
“Be it an app, be it a website, be it a festival to explore further,” she said.
Fellowes said she hopes the trail becomes a line item in the 2017 district budget even if no money is attributed to it this year. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” Fellowes said.
