Safe beach route from Charlottetown in works
Last Updated: Friday, July 30, 2010 | 12:02 PM AT
CBC News
The village of Brackley, P.E.I., is working to connect itself to Charlottetown with a multi-use paved trail, making a safe bicycle and hiking route to North Shore beaches.
The idea started with Brackley resident Brendon McKenna. He was just looking for a safe place to walk along Route 15, which is busy with traffic heading north from Charlottetown to Brackley Beach, in Prince Edward Island National Park, whenever the weather is fine.
"I have two young children and trying to get the children up and down the road was quite a challenge over the years," said McKenna.
"We'd be heading down there with a stroller trying to navigate the traffic, so it was dangerous. It was a very busy road and we felt threatened most of the time."
McKenna, a member of the Brackley Community Council, approached private donors and the province to help fund a new trail two years ago. The trail is now just a few kilometres long, running from the Charlottetown Airport to the Brackley Commons.
Cycling PEI is picking up on the idea and would like to see the trail continued all the way to the North Shore.
"I get a lot of emails every week with different requests from people coming to the Island looking for different things," said Mike Connolly, executive director of Cycling PEI.
"That's one of the recurring themes. How do I get to the North Shore safely? They know how to get there, but it's how to get there safely."
Cycling PEI is willing to pick up part of the tab for a new trail and it's applying to the province and the federal government to help pay. Organizers don't yet know what the full cost will be, but they hope to have the trail finished in a few years.
