A Fulford-to-Vesuvius multi-use pathway plan is being readied for inclusion into the Capital Regional District (CRD)’s newest service, with the CRD board unanimously voting to refer planning for the Salt Spring Island Regional Trail (SSIRT) to the recently formed Transportation Committee.
“It’s an important first step,” said Salt Spring’s CRD director Gary Holman, who noted his opposition to the island joining the service last year. “But given that [service] has been established, this makes total sense.”
The proposed 21-kilometre SSIRT will join the Galloping Goose, Lochside and E&N Rail trails under the new service, part of a recent “decoupling” of trail responsibilities from parks to transportation. The shift preserves capital reserves and capital plan allocations, Holman said.a
Island Pathways representatives Robin Jenkinson and Simon Rompre had spoken earlier at the CRD board meeting Wednesday, Dec. 10, backed by about a dozen Salt Spring Islanders and once again advocating for the regional district to begin initial SSIRT design work in 2026. Holman supported a motion advancing that suggestion to the Transportation Committee, noting there should be no tax implication as money for that work is already designated from reserve funds.
Holman is not among directors sitting on the regional transportation committee, although separately there is an interagency transportation committee that includes one senior staff representative from each participating area — all 13 municipalities and three electoral areas — alongside representatives from the Ministry of Transportation and Transit, BC Ferries, ICBC and similar agencies. In Salt Spring’s case, senior manager Dan Ovington sits on that committee as a voting member.
The SSIRT has been described as the “last missing piece” in the 200-kilometre Salish Sea Trail network, with early construction cost estimates reaching over $100 million; a recently-completed feasibility study put that number lower, targeting potential savings through use of different surfacing materials and incorporating some on-road trail segments along “traffic calmed” side streets.
Island Pathways has said that starting design work in 2026 will help its efforts to engage potential donors.