The wall

The Millennium Trail was once accessible, now it’s a dangerous barrier

Doug Van Vlack’s home backs onto the Millennium Trail in Wellington. He has tended the Trail’s span across his property for more than a decade. Much more than cutting the grass and trimming the expansionary buckthorn, Van Vlack has installed stone, erected fencing and planted dozens of trees and plants. He has invested thousands of hours into the public Trail running alongside his property.

He wasn’t in favour of expensive water and wastewater pipes under the Trail. But after Council made its decision, he regularly pursued the municipality and the contractors to respect their unique relationship with public space. Mostly he wanted a commitment to restore the Trail faithfully back to the way they found it.

His efforts and words were wasted.

Today, when he looks across his backyard and through the gate that once served as his access to the Millennium Trail, he stares at a ten-foot barrier. Instead of restoring the Millennium Trail to its original height, contractors have elevated the Trail along a stretch from Maple Street to Wharf Street by as much as 10 feet. (It is one of the few stretches of the Trail in Wellington onto which residential homes back).

VanVlack’s access to the Trail—and that of his neighbours on the north side of Lakebreeze Court—has been taken away. He had constructed a patio stone walkway to access the Trail. It is buried now. Under a mountain of soil.

The wall of the newly elevated Trail is too steep. Too high. It is nigh impossible to scale safely.

But it is worse than that. The Millennium Trail is now much higher than the fences that once offered some privacy from passersby. Any sense of privacy in their backyard has been shattered forever. Should the municipality now pay for 20-foot fences?

Evelyn Van Vlack worries about the risk created by elevating the Trail so high. Should a cyclist, ATVer or snowmobiler veer off the side, they are apt to hurtle down a 16-foot drop into the ditch on the north side. Some worry that the increased risk of injury may compel the municipality to install guard rails—adding more expense to a project that is already $5 million over budget and a year late, with no end in sight.

There are questions, too, about process: How did this happen? How did such a massive change to the elevation of the Trail get approved? Who approved it? Why was there no consultation with the neighbours who suddenly stare at a soaring ridgeline in their yards? How does Shire Hall intend to mitigate the increased liability risk?

The Times asked Shire Hall to comment on the issues of access, process, liability risk and privacy.

Their response: “We are currently reassessing the previously approved plan of reusing excess soil material to regrade the Millennium Trail between Wharf Street and Maple Street. The municipality wants to explore if there are ways to reduce the impact of the regrading and determine the feasibility and cost of either reusing this material elsewhere or disposing of it off-site.

We anticipate having more information about the results of this reassessment in the next several weeks. At that time, information will be shared with the public through the municipality’s channels.”

In the meantime, workers are currently busy extending utility hole access pipes to reach the new trail elevation.