Community partners succeed in building Copper Cliff trail

BY WENDY BIRD

A trail that will give Copper Cliff residents safe passage into town is expected to be open to the public this fall.

"Slow and steady wins the race," said Debbie McIntosh, executive director of Rainbow Routes in Greater Sudbury about the project that has been in the works for almost three years.

An integral part of the trail was completed this summer after a culvert was installed under the train trestle at Highway 55 and Balsam St., just outside Copper Cliff. The culvert was installed, at a cost of $150,000, courtesy of CVRD Inco, William Day and AMEC Earth and Environmental.

The culvert, itself worth $40,000, was paid for by the city. Now all that's left to do is to build a crusher dust trail from the culvert to Kelly Lake Rd. Work on the trail is expected to be complete in the fall, when there will be a grand-opening.

McIntosh is thrilled to finally see the project evolve into the finishing stages.

 She said it's hard to believe almost three years have passed since Colin Flett first approached her with the idea of building a trail that would be safe for cyclists. Flett had lost a friend to a roadway cycling accident and he wanted to buy the gravel and upgrade that section so it would be safer for cyclists.

"He wanted to do this himself," McIntosh recalled. "But you can't lead people to a dangerous place, in this case, a railway track, or an underpass with a little strip of pavement on the side."

So McIntosh dove into the project by first calling Cory McPhee at CVRD Inco. She asked if Rainbow Routes could find the money to buy the culvert, would the company install it?" The answer was "yes."

It took a little longer than expected, but CVRD Inco finished installing the culvert this summer after completing some track work on the underpass. The city will install a pedestrian cross-walk at the Balsam St. intersection and walkway lines will be painted.

"Copper Cliff has no non-motorized way of getting into town because all they have is that one road and its not safe for cyclists or walkers," McIntosh said.

"The idea is, once they get to Kelly Lake Rd., they will be able to get on the Junction Creek Trail, which will eventually bring people right into town.

The trail, which will be covered with crushed gravel, will be about two kilometers in length.

It will be developed by Rainbow Routes' Job Creation Project workers, thanks to funding from the Ministry of Training, Universities and Colleges.

Rainbow Routes is able to accomplish all these projects with the help of the different levels of government, as well as community and corporate sponsorship, McIntosh said.

"The neat thing about this trail is that it is a means of active transportation. It's not just for recreation," she added.
"Some people may use it as a recreational route, but it's definitely a transportation route for people from Copper Cliff to get into town."