The City of Pembroke doesn’t get the final decision to allow snowmobiles on the Algonquin Trail.
The almost 300 kilometer stretch of trail between Smiths Falls and Mattawa is owned by the County of Renfrew, Lanark County and Township of Papineau-Cameron.
During a recent Development and Property committee meeting, councillor Peter Emon said staff have been working with local municipalities, but ultimately it’s their trail and they can to decide who uses it and how they use it.
This follows a 4 to 3 vote by Pembroke councillors to not allow snowmobile use on the section of trail that runs through the city. The County of Renfrew has been working with local municipalities to allow them the opportunity to find alternate routes if they didn’t want motorized traffic on the Algonquin Trail.
Recently Laurentian Valley exhausted all options and let the County of Renfrew know they would allow snowmobiles to use the trail until an alternate route is found.
The Timberline Snowmobile Club has let the County of Renfrew that due to recent changes in land
ownership, a section of the #120 trail which provides access to the east end of the City of Pembroke has been closed.
The county plans to open a section of the Algonquin Trail from Greenwood Road to Greenside Street in Pembroke next to the Comfort Inn. Snowmobiles will be allowed to use this section of trail to access local restaurants and hotels/motels (up to and including an entrance/access to Finnigan’s Road House – 955 Pembroke Street East). County staff will ensure that the required signage is installed and will make a request to have the OPP patrol this section of the trail once it is officially open.
While the Algonquin Trail isn’t open through Laurentian Hills yet, Mayor Jed Reinwald says some of the local landowners have agreements with snowmobile clubs and have closed trails due to ATV use in the winter.
The County of Renfrew, Lanark County and Township of Papineau-Cameron acquired the almost 300 kilometer stretch of abandoned rail line from Canadian Pacific that stretches from Mattawa to Smiths Falls. The section of the Ottawa Valley Recreation Trail that runs through 10 Renfrew County municipalities and the City of Pembroke is called the Algonquin Trail.
The trail is a total of 296 kilometers long with 37 bridges and underpasses (212 kilometers and 29 bridges and underpasses are in Renfrew County).
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