Town of Orangeville staff has come up with other ways $220,000 in government grants for a Rails with Trails (RWT) project killed by town council might be preserved.

The upper-tier government funding was made available through a $110,000 Recreation Infrastructure Canada (RInC) grant that was matched by the provincial government. The town was to add $110,000 to round out the cost of the rail trail.

It is customary that federal and provincial funds be forfeited if the project for which they were originally intended falls through. But in an effort to maintain the money, staff has come up with alternative methods of potentially using the funds.

Two sections, known as the “missing links” are part of the west-end trail network. They include a connection on C-Line from Brenda Blvd. to Broadway, and a section along Riddell Road between Alder Street and the trail underpass.

In a memo to council, Parks and Recreation director Sonja Pritchard noted that it is common to see pedestrians walking on the edge of the road in each of these areas.

“Completing these links would create much safer routes for those using the retail plaza on Broadway,” wrote Ms. Pritchard, “and students walking to Westside Secondary School.”

Meanwhile, the timing of council’s decision to kill the RWT on March 29, after voting in favour of it for close to three years, is proving to be impeccable for those who oppose the project.

Trailways committee chair Bernadette Hardaker asked council Monday whether it was still possible to have the question of the RWT put to the public on the next municipal election ballot. This would have to be done by April 28, a deadline imposed by Ontario’s Municipal Elections Act.

Town clerk Cheryl Johns explained that this would be all but impossible. First, the town solicitor would have to be consulted to ensure the actual question on the ballot is worded without bias and in accordance to the elections act.

Then, Ms. Johns pointed out, there would have to be two ads in the local newspapers; one to announce a public meeting and another, after the meeting is held, to announce a bylaw put forward as a result of the public meeting.

If all this were somehow pulled off by the time of the next public council meeting, (April 26), and the question got on the ballot, the public response would only be binding if more than 50 per cent of the eligible electorate answered it.

The last two municipal elections have seen voter turnout in the 35 per cent range.

In an interview Tuesday, Ms. Hardaker conceded that the suggested alternative projects are “probably the only two that can be done quickly and meet the trails criteria.

“It would have been nice for our committee to have had some more input in the decision, but I guess the (town staff) didn’t have the time.”

A motion to post more “no trespassing” signage on the railway right-ofway and to enforce the law more strictly was also passed at the March 29 meeting. On Monday night, Trailways committee member Rob Strang inquired as to what measures would be taken in this regard.

Town planning director James Stiver, who also serves as general manager of the town-owned Orangeville Brampton Rail Access Group (OBRAG), pointed to two options. One was to post 76 signs on 38 crossings which lack them on the railway between Orangeville and Mississauga. Or the signs could be erected at 10 crossings within the town limits.

As well, a recent walk along the tracks between Town Line and Church Street showed that 10 residences bordering on the tracks had gates offering access to the private properties. Mr. Stiver indicated that, in the spirit of enforcement, the town might have to direct the property owners to remove those gates.

Police Chief Joe Tomei said Tuesday that the Orangeville Police Service would still be diligent in regards to responding to complaints of illegal activity on the right-of-way. But to institute further enforcement through, for example, foot patrols, would be impractical when manpower requirements were taken into consideration.