By ROBIN JENKINSON and
PETER MEYER
This year held many great events and projects to advance safer walking and cycling pathways on Salt Spring Island.
From a Kids Bike Park Rally and BBQ, to a youth mountain biking movie night, to adult social rides and an ebiking safety course, our Cycling Salt Spring Committee has engaged all ages. We’ve had fun distributing free helmets for children, selling maps and connecting with community at schools, the Tuesday and Saturday markets, the Volunteer Fair, Salt Spring Film Festival and Fall Fair, and offering free bike repairs at Transition Salt Spring’s Repair Cafe.
The Salish Sea Trail Working Group, including the Capital Regional District, Islands Trust, ministries of transportation and tourism, and other partners convened by Island Pathways and former MLA Adam Olsen, resulted in CRD Regional Parks and the federal Active Transportation Fund developing a preliminary design for a multi-use pathway from Fulford to Vesuvius. Regional Parks has allocated $630,000 for design and outreach work over the next two years and millions for construction beyond that.
The Partners Creating Pathways Committee also had a productive year, with a new pathway at Brinkworthy completed in November, and plans under development for Brinkworthy Phase II, which will extend the trail to the entrance of the Brinkworthy complex. This is a great example of how Salt Spring Island collaboration works between a volunteer organization (Island Pathways), the CRD, the Local Community Commission, Parks, Arts, Recreation and Culture, the CRD director, private party land dedication and the contractor, Sam Erk. Plans are underfoot for additional collaborative pathway construction between Kanaka Road and Park Drive, the Swanson Road/Lakeview Crescent Pathway, and the long-anticipated extension of a pathway to Merchants Mews. The new Woodland Cliff Trail is being considered by the Salt Spring Trail and Nature Club for insurance coverage and maintenance, and we have entered into discussions with Country Grocer regarding pathway improvements on their property and near the Summerside Strata. Three new benches (numbers 49, 50 and 51), built by Donald McLennan, were also installed along trails.
In 2024, the board updated our logo and commenced a strategic plan, with a focus on connecting, building and good health. In 2025, please look forward to a new website, along with two exciting volunteer-driven programs. One will use our ebike-driven bike lane sweeper to clean up gravel and debris. The second is the launch of a Salt Spring chapter of Cycling Without Age, offering safe bike rides on our new electric “trishaw.”
We’d like to extend deep appreciation for outgoing board members Natasha Kong and Michi Main and a warm welcome to our newest board member, Neal Barman. Bob MacKie, Wendy Webb, Steve New, Luke Campbell, Simon Rompre, Margaretha Nordine, Peter Meyer and Naomi Tweddle carry on! Many others lead and participate in committees and special projects.
We invite you to join us to achieve safe active transportation infrastructure on Salt Spring. Become a lifetime member, donate or sign up for our newsletter at islandpathways.ca.