12-16-2016, 09:36 PM
We, myself included are often quick with criticism and suggestions for improvement, so for a change of pace I would like to congratulate the City of Waterloo, so far, on maintaining the majority its trails on a pretty timely basis (at least the sections of the ones that I've used since the snow has flown: IHT, Spur, Laurel mostly). Obviously there is always room for improvement, but it has been a decent response, relatively speaking, to a challenging start to the season so far. The section of the MUT along Caroline got missed after the first big dumping, and the path between the City Centre parking lot and the creek regularly gets cleared, but then gets infilled with snow from the adjacent parking lot, but small wins are progress nonetheless.
In a different train of thought, I wonder if it is time that we stop calling our active transportation paths, like the Spurline and Iron Horse "trails" and instead call start calling them "thruways" or something more descriptive of the function they carry-out. "Trail" comes with a connotation of rugged and wild, something that requires specialized equipment and time to meander and explore. So when they go unploughed, unmaintained, and fall in to disrepair it is kind of living up to its name and fitting with preconceived expectations of its name. The general public then fails to see problems with the trails because after all, aren't those the very qualities part of the appeal, challenge, and fun of taking the "trail?" Borrowing a term like thruway or expressway or something else from the broader transportation network implies a higher level of expectations of service (e.g. lighting, plowing, etc.).
This would fit well with something someone suggested pages and pages ago that the trails actually be made a special kind of limited access road. An expressway is a kind of road limited to certain types of vehicles (e.g. no mopeds, no cyclists, no pedestrians, etc.). Trails could just be a different kind of road limited to a different set of vehicle types (cyclists, pedestrians, etc.) and with that would come a certain expectations and requirements for lighting, clearing, markings, etc.
In a different train of thought, I wonder if it is time that we stop calling our active transportation paths, like the Spurline and Iron Horse "trails" and instead call start calling them "thruways" or something more descriptive of the function they carry-out. "Trail" comes with a connotation of rugged and wild, something that requires specialized equipment and time to meander and explore. So when they go unploughed, unmaintained, and fall in to disrepair it is kind of living up to its name and fitting with preconceived expectations of its name. The general public then fails to see problems with the trails because after all, aren't those the very qualities part of the appeal, challenge, and fun of taking the "trail?" Borrowing a term like thruway or expressway or something else from the broader transportation network implies a higher level of expectations of service (e.g. lighting, plowing, etc.).
This would fit well with something someone suggested pages and pages ago that the trails actually be made a special kind of limited access road. An expressway is a kind of road limited to certain types of vehicles (e.g. no mopeds, no cyclists, no pedestrians, etc.). Trails could just be a different kind of road limited to a different set of vehicle types (cyclists, pedestrians, etc.) and with that would come a certain expectations and requirements for lighting, clearing, markings, etc.
Everyone move to the back of the bus and we all get home faster.