ATHABASCA – Geoff Loken had no idea how much current and former Athabasca residents love the Muskeg Creek Trails until he started a Facebook group last week.
In three days, the ‘Friends of Muskeg Creek – Save our Trails’ group grew to an astonishing 300 people in just a few days, with many sharing photos and stories of their time on the trail system, both in summer and winter, and expressing concern that the north bridge has not been repaired or replaced since it partially collapsed in June.
“I didn't really realize how much other people cared until I created that Facebook group and we had some 300 people in three days sign up and I saw their testimonies and really realized how much everybody else loved them too,” Loken said in an interview Aug. 13.
Loken, now 38, grew up in Athabasca after moving with his parents in the 1980s for work at Athabasca University. He uses the trails a lot, he said, for walking his dogs, running and sometimes walking to work at his own job at AU.
"I use them all the time; I go for walks or with the dogs. I go for runs. So, I'm up there a lot actually. I love them because I grew up here so I spent a lot of my childhood on them. And then when I came back, I started to get out there a lot again,” he said.
“I created the page because I didn't even know what was going on because everybody I talked to had different stories and I wanted to get people together. To me, I'd like to see the bridge replaced. Obviously all three should be there; the problem with taking any of them out is that it starts to cut down on usable trail space.”
Loken is less concerned with the width and load-bearing capabilities of the bridges and more-so with access to all of the trails. Without bridges, portions of the trail would not be accessible and maintained.
“Maybe if they couldn't replace them, they can look at other options to ensure we still have lots of usable approachable trails, but just not replacing them doesn't seem to be a very good option at all,” said Loken.
At the Aug. 11 Town of Athabasca council meeting it did come up, for 33 seconds, during the Outside Services report.
“I'm getting numerous phone calls about the bridges on the trails, I'm wondering if you are as well,” mayor Colleen Powell said to foreman Warren Zyla as he gave the Parks report.
“No, only a couple people mentioned it here and there but they realize, what do you do,” Zyla said.
CAO Rachel Ramey did say she had responded to a couple of people who inquired and also reached out AU.
“Your Worship, the one concern that Coun. Balay sent out, I did respond to him. We did have another one inquire as well and I did respond to them,” Ramey said. “I have also made contact with Athabasca University since they own half the trails to let them know what we were doing and the Nordic club as well.”
It had first been brought up at the July 14 meeting when Zyla informed council that the north bridge on the 17.6 kilometre trails had been damaged by flooding that caused soil movement and erosion and costs had been researched for a bridge that would allow the Parks staff access with service vehicles to help maintain the trails.
“A 30-metre long, three metre wide pedestrian bridge weight rated for a service vehicle would cost approximately $500,000. Cost estimates for a 1.5 metre pedestrian-only bridge is being researched,” Zyla said.
The trails have been around for almost 40 years with the bridges existing just as long, so Loken thinks no matter the cost it is a good long-term investment in something that provides so many residents and visitors a beautiful place to explore and exercise.
"You know, 40 years of a bridge like that, maybe that's not a bad expectation, and I think that the town has got out of it relatively cost free over the last four decades. And expecting to have to do maintenance every few decades might not be a really unreasonable thing at all,” he said.
Loken said that the Facebook group is too large to gather everyone's input so a smaller ad-hoc committee met Aug. 16 to decide on a course of action and Loken is clear he’s only the creator of the Facebook page, but is willing to help whomever wants to lead the charge if that is what the ad hoc group eventually decides.
“I think our first step will be just to make sure that the town realizes how important this is to everybody and start collecting some of the really good ideas and feedback we've been getting from everyone,” said Loken. “I can't imagine that council really expected that there would be this much enthusiasm about the bridges.”
As to which direction they go, Loken said he expects they will start with the town and expand to requests to the county, apply for grants or fundraise, anything to help keep the trails open.
“I'm really hoping that once town realizes how important this is to everybody and sees some of these ideas that we can move forward with a solution,” Loken said.
Heather Stocking, TownandCountryToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @HLSox
