A new trail from the Bridgewater Skatepark to the Lunenburg County Lifestyle Centre is in the works.
The Town of Bridgewater will be putting the $6,000 sum they received from the province’s Recreational Trail Expansion Grant Program into the trail.
Bridgewater mayor David Mitchell says a trail between the two was needed due to the lack of facilities at the park, and the request of a storage area by the skaters.
“I believe they are actually going to be keeping brooms and things like that for the skatepark bowl at the LCLC, so it will make it a lot quicker to run down and get those,” said Mitchell, “Having the brooms to clean off the ramps was actually an initiative of the skaters themselves too.”
Mitchell says the skateboarding community has done well to make sure the park is kept care of, so he hopes adding the trail will make their walks between the two a bit safer and quicker.
“We were told years ago that we wouldn’t have any trouble from with the skatepark, because they police themselves as a community,” he said, “and that has been 100 per cent correct.”
The trail is part of a $20,000 trail project headed by the town, which will also include work to a trail between North Park Street and Logan Road.
Meanwhile, the Municipality of the District of Lunenburg received $45,000, which will go towards expansions at River Ridge Common.
MODL plans to add 7 km to the parks already existing trail system, which will include the addition of accessible trails for hikers and a single track mountain bike trail.
Mayor Carolyn Bolivar-Getson says they are using best practise standards for accessibility to develop the new trails, something that is not common throughout Nova Scotia.
“We’re looking to build a network of trails within the park that will meet the needs of various user groups,” she said.
“As part of this, there will be a pull-off for ATV users to stop and take a break and enjoy the park. There will be picnic tables made available, and they will be able to access many of the other features we have there.”
Currently, the park features a natural playground, many hiking trails, views of the waterfalls at Indian Falls, and direct access to the South Shore Annapolis Valley Trail.
Bolivar-Getson says they hope the expansions and upgrades will allow more people to get use out of the park, and experience all it holds.
“You really need to go to the site and see it to experience the beauty and the nature that is actually on the site,” she said.
“We have over 100 acres of land here, so there is a lot of potential for this park and for more trail development.”
Bolivar-Getson says the work to the expansion will begin immediately, and expects it to wrap up sometime in the fall.
Reported by: Cody McEachern
Twitter: @CodyInHiFi
E-mail: mceachern.cody@radioabl.ca
