An avid hiker wants to raise awareness about blockages to an area that was labelled as a trail on the municipal web map.
Cliff Jennings said that according to the municipal online map, a path behind Loggers Lane, just by the Mamquam Blind Channel, should extend past Pemberton Avenue towards the highway.
However, some property owners north of the 38100-block of Loggers Lane have built structures that block access to this path.
Jennings said that he'd like the District to open that area up so the trail can continue without any obstacles.
"You're walking into town along that trail behind the tire shops and everything. The trails are still there," said Jennings. "Then you're running into a fence."
Would-be pedestrians then have to find their way through an alleyway and try to navigate past a wall, he said.
Jennings notes that local government leaders have said they want more active transportation.
Opening up the trail would be a boon to pedestrians and cyclists, he said.
The closures along the route also contradict the town's brand as an adventure capital, as well as its ambitions for active transportation.
He said that commuting cyclists have a tough time finding trails just for their use. Most of the time, they wind up using the same roads as cars.
Jennings said the path has been designated as a trail for some time, but no right of way has been applied to the area.
In May, Jennings showed The Squamish Chief that the trail was marked on the District's web map.
He says it has been that way for years.
As of June 17, however, the blocked segment of the trail no longer appears on the map.
The municipality issued a response to Jennings' concerns.
"The land in question is on private property," wrote spokesperson Rachel Boguski. "While the Official Community Plan identifies the trail along this (west) side of the Mamquam Blind Channel as a proposed multi-use pathway, this does not necessarily confirm or indicate that existing public access rights-of-way are in place. The District is working to construct and secure public access rights-of-way along this corridor through redevelopment."
Jennings chuckled when The Squamish Chief told him the District's answer.
"I think that's the kind of answer you usually get to those kinds of questions," he said.
He responded that he'd like to see the municipality hire a more effective negotiator to work with existing property owners to secure a right of way.
"This isn't quite so complicated," said Jennings.
