It turned out to be an unwelcome surprise on their regular dog-walking route.
A rogue bike trail has been constructed near McNaughton Park in Valleycliffe, a fact that startled resident Brian Vincent and his wife a few weeks ago.
Vincent said they were walking their two dogs earlier this month when his dog began exploring off the trail, and what he saw around the corner was surprising.
“I hiked up and followed him and I was blown away, because I saw these huge jumps or ramps there – they’re humongous,” he said. “Someone obviously put in a lot of work and brought in tools. I don’t know how they did this work undetected.”
Vincent said the group of ramps is dangerous to local species in the area like frogs and could increase erosion. The encounter with the rogue trail left him with questions about trail building in Squamish.
“I’m wondering how big of a problem this is in Squamish,” he said. “There’s also a big concern regarding conflicts between hikers and bikers, and it just doesn’t seem to be compatible to have ramps in this clearing. How is this being kept track of?”
He said the District of Squamish needs more oversight and education in the area of trail building legalities and proposed the idea of penalties for rogue trail builders.
“This issue needs vigorous enforcement,” he said. “Those building should have to pay to restore the area, and if the DOS has the funds, they should work with local organizations to assess these rogue trails and restore them. I’d like to see local groups work with the DOS to crack down on these trails.”
The DOS acknowledged that the trail is indeed a rogue trail and said trail building in this manner is not the proper way to do so.
“Building a trail without permission is not the right way to go about getting a trail sanctioned,” said Garry Buxton, general manager of development services and public works for the DOS.
“If a trail is not safe, compromises slope stability, contributes to environmental degradation, or does not have the support of the landowners and or neighbours, it may need to be decommissioned. This is a waste of everyone’s time and resources.”
Buxton said anyone proposing or building a new trail must work in conjunction with SORCA, the trails partner for the district. He said the future of this particular rogue trail is still to determined.
“As this particular trail is already built, the district and SORCA will take a look at it to make a determination as to next steps,” he said.
For more information on future trail development processes, visit www.sorca.ca/trails/trail-building.
