Possibility of great nature trail at Saunders Lake
Dear editor
The stage is set to provide for a first class nature trail in the Northwest quadrant of Saunders Lake. The developer has identified access points to the trail and has set aside the 200 to 400 metres of escarpment (long steep slope at the edge of a plateau), between the lake and the development as natural area / open space. In reading the Area Structure Plan the developer acknowledges that the County will need to request that an Environmental Reserve be set aside on the plateau to create the level land for a nature trail, (even though they show the trail at the top of the escarpment). Obviously the County does not want to build a nature trail on or near a slope. The trail would be dangerous, subject to erosion and expensive to maintain. I investigated what the Province recommends for trail widths and gradients. In a document that was prepared for the Province by Stantec Consulting, the recommended grade for a trail is 5%, (which is also the gradient set for ramps for barrier free access). It is fortunate that the trail route follows a contour and will be practically level between access points, thus creating one of the very few nature trails that can be accessed by the elderly and physically challenged. Stantec's document recommends trail widths of between 3.4 and 4.3 metres, with 1.5m wide shoulders on each side and a slope across the trail of 2%.
So how much of the level plateau is the County able to acquire under the Municipal Government Act, as Environmental Reserve? Well, in their response matrix, the County stated that the area west of the natural area / green space "would not qualify for Environmental Reserve and Municipal Reserve is limited to 10% under the MGA". So, 10% of the original land parcel is (601.4ha x 10%), 60.14ha. This is roughly equivalent to a strip of land 186m wide the length of the trail. Since the County is able to accept money in lieu of land it is reasonable to expect a trail width of say 30 metres, which would allow for a shelter belt to the west of the trail and bush planting at the top of the escarpment and have the planting and trail built with the money received. Of course I don't think that there would be much of a problem applying for grants to provide benches and lookouts along a barrier free nature trail.
https://www.albertaparks.ca/albertaparksca/about-us/inclusion-accessibility/push-to-open-nature/
I can only see that it is up to our elected officials to pursue, what would be an eco-tourism attraction and chance to enjoy nature for those with mobility challenges.
Vic Moran
Leduc County
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