Written By Jan Sims
MIDDLESEX CENTRE - Plans to expand a rail trail in Middlesex Centre have been derailed; at least for now. Middlesex Centre council voted to remove the trail expansion proposal from the municipality’s Active Transportation Plan at its September 17th meeting.
A staff report cited a cost of $32 million to purchase land to expand the trail, which is part of an old railway corridor. But the plan was shot down in front of a large number of spectators at the council meeting, including several residents who spoke about concerns.
“The costs and risks involved not only for us, but for the entire tax base far outweigh the benefits,” area resident Mike Brennan told council.
Brennan outlined a number of concerns related to farming practices, as the trail would run adjacent to nearby farmland. “Unauthorized entry onto farmland can result in crop or livestock damages. Significant farm and financial loss can result from disease unknowingly introduced by unauthorized entrance,” said Brennan.
There were also fears about liability and the potential for injury. “Will Middlesex Centre support the landowners when someone walks off the trail and is injured?,” asked Brennan. “Heaven forbids, a child amused by the big combine in the field, wanders out in the field for a better look and isn’t seen by the driver,” added Brennan.
In order for the rail trail to have come to fruition, land would have to be purchased from nearby farmers. “Those people behind me are not willing to sell,” said area resident Kevin Robson in reference to the spectators at the council meeting. “The time to build this trail was 20 years in the past,” said Robson who indicated that expropriating the land would drive up costs to the municipality considerably.
Other concerns cited include litter, parking, and security.
When the issue came to council, a motion to remove the rail trail from the Active Transportation Plan was unanimously supported by councillors. “There’s still an appetite for a connection, but just not what’s being proposed today,” said Ward 1 Councillor Jean Coles. “I’m a farmer. And there’s no way I want that trail expanded,” said Ward 3 Councillor Hugh Aerts.
Discussion of the Active Transportation Plan also included more cycling options. Area resident Eric Nyland cited a need for more north-south routes connecting Middlesex Centre with London. Nyland described cycling on Hyde Park Road as “incredibly scary.” “With the hills and the 90-kilometer road someone’s going to get hurt eventually,” said Nyland.
Ward 5 councillor Frank Berze was sympathetic to the idea of more paved shoulders on area roads. But he pointed out that many of the roads in Middlesex Centre are a county responsibility.
