by sentierschelseatrails | Aug 4, 2017 | Members & Volunteers
Track removal begins next week.
The municipality of Chelsea is going ahead with a first phase of work to remove the rails and the wooden ties in the weeks ahead. For more information on the rail dismantling work see the information on the municipal website at: http://www.chelsea.ca/?q=content/beginning-work-removal-rails-and-ties-railway-corridor&lg=en It has been a long process and much more community consultation is needed. In the months ahead this consultation will shape the ultimate design of the community trail. We want to share with you the news that there is progress being made!
New charity launched in Chelsea to raise one million dollars for future trail
After several months of preparation a new charitable organization, Voie Verte Chelsea has been launched. This organization is dedicated in the short term to raising the funds required to develop a four season, multi functional trail along the Chelsea railway corridor. Chelsea Trails is pleased to be on the board of this new organization to help make this trail affordable for Chelsea residents.
Here’s the text of the press release:
It’s official. A group of Chelsea residents registered, at the end of July, a new not-for-profit called Voie Verte Chelsea (VVC) to help raise money for the conversion of the railway corridor into a year-round community trail.
VVC will start to approach foundations, corporations and individuals who want to invest in the community trail. “We have set an initial goal of one million dollars and have already got our list of targets who are specifically interested in funding rails-to-trails conversions,” says Sandy Foote, President of Voie Verte Chelsea.
The idea for VVC grew out of the Trail Finance Working Group, set up by the municipality in April, to explore the availability of sources of funds for these types of projects. “In our research, we found numerous funding sources but many of them were not available to municipalities. You needed to be a non-profit to apply,” explains councillor Simon Joubarne, Chair of the Trail Finance Working Group.
When the Trail Finance Working Group considered the best practises of rails-to-trails conversion projects across the country, they found the best way to maximize funding opportunities was to form a not-for-profit charity that works in close partnership with the municipality.
To create the founding group of VVC, a meeting was held with interested citizens, who live adjacent to the trail, are active trail users or representatives of other community groups like ACRE, Cascades Club, Sentiers Chelsea Trails, and Rails-to-Trails.
While VVC is arms length from the municipality, a close partnership is essential to a successful fund-raising campaign. The driving mission of the VVC is to buffer the taxpayers of Chelsea from the full costs of developing the trail.
“I’m glad to see VVC step up to the challenge of raising money because we are a small community and it takes this kind of partnership to make a project like this possible,” says Charles Ricard, Director General of Chelsea. Council approved M. Ricard’s appointment to a non-voting seat on the board of VVC to facilitate the partnership.
by sentierschelseatrails | Jul 31, 2017 | Members & Volunteers
If you see this sign: Please walk your bicycle
Chelsea Trails proudly announces the near completion of the Belle Terre Trail connecting with chemin du Manoir and Belle Terre. We would like to thank the landowners who have graciously allowed access to the trails across their land.
There are several signs posted on the trail, asking the trail users to dismount from their bikes. It is very important for cyclists to respect the wishes of the property owners to not cycle on the trails across their land. Private landowners have allowed access and may equally relinquish the privilege. Further, to protect the property owners’ privacy, please remain on the trail and be aware of the noise level, particularly at night. Thank you in advance for respecting the trails specifications.
by sentierschelseatrails | Jul 14, 2017 | Members & Volunteers, Trail Projects, Work Bees
The trail building in the area encircled by Old Chelsea, the 105, and Scott is a good example of the spirit and vision of Chelsea Trails. This ‘triangle’ contains two elementary school, the Meredith Centre, and many homes and municipal green spaces. But right now, in many cases, a child living 500 metres from their school can’t walk or bike there. This is particularly true if the only entrance to a home or street is off of the 105, on which children are not allowed to ride their bikes (since the speed limit for cars is 70km/hr).
Marc Desjardins, the SCT Sector Champion for this area, hopes to change all that. For the past several years, Marc has been working with the municipality and local landowners to create a system of footpaths that can link streets in this area to each other and to access points on Scott and Old Chelsea. Work this summer will be done behind Ben’s Towing but there are also three other paths in this area that have either been restored or are in the planning stages. Much of these trails follow municipal corridors, but some portions are only possible thanks to the collaboration of local landowners. Marc has knocked on many doors and held open meetings to garner support, and has taken the wishes of local landowners into account when designing certain portions.
As always, these improvements would only be possible with many hours of volunteer effort, in collaboration with the municipality. One important volunteer has been Leilak Anderson, a certified arborist, who has kindly donated and delivered extra mulch for the trails.
by sentierschelseatrails | Jun 27, 2017 | Members & Volunteers
This public meeting is part of the research being conducted by the Montreal consulting group BC2 for their social impact assessment study on the community trail project. They will be present to collect your input and ideas and will submit them to the council.
If you have to miss the meeting but want to contribute your thoughts to the process, you may email your comments to [email protected].The study is supposed to be completed by the end of July so we suggest you get your comments sent by July 6 if you want them to be included in the study.
by sentierschelseatrails | May 16, 2017 | Members & Volunteers
That’s what you saw at the Chelsea Trails dance party on May 6, an exuberant celebration, and a great display of Chelsea’s generous community, but it was also a heartfelt tribute by Richard’s wife, Catherine Morrison and the musicians, to a man they love and miss. Five years ago, Catherine launched a dance party event in support of Chelsea Trails. This year, she gathered up the musicians and did it again…. only bigger.
Catherine, who is Katie Diamond on stage, brought her band and kick-started the B-sides band to build the event as a tribute to the musical memory of Richard Garlick, who died in 2011. Richard’s infectious enthusiasm for his music and his love of Chelsea’s trails shaped his life and spawned Chelsea Trails. He played rock, Cajun, Brazilian jazz, whatever he could find. And just one band wasn’t enough. He and his guitar fronted the B-sides, took the stage with Les Poutine Étouffées and played his last performance at a house concert for SCT.
Thank you all for such an amazing gift for Chelsea Trails and a full on show of the power of love.
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