NORTH BATTLEFORD - City council in North Battleford has given their endorsement to a proposal for a new snowmobile trail that'll come directly into the city limits.
At Monday night's meeting in North Battleford, council voted unanimously in favor of a resolution approving the Sask. Snowmobile Association request to utilize city trails, as outlined in the Saskatchewan Snowmobile Association's City Trails map.
The new trail being proposed would tap into the established snowmobile trail network in the surrounding area. The trail would enter the city from the north to the south, crossing Carlton Trail to access the "hotel zone" or a potential parking zone behind the Dekker Centre.
At the meeting, council heard from Brody Halewich of the Battlefords Trail Breakers Snowmobile Club, who represented the Saskatchewan Snowmobile Association on the proposed trail. Their idea is for a trail that could better accommodate those snowmobile riders coming into the city, and in particular for the 2023-2024 Provincial Snowmobile Festival that the Battlefords will host from Feb 23 to 25, 2024.
Halewich indicated to council that the trail will give snowmobilers a safe route to accommodations such as hotels, as well as to gas stations and restaurants within the city limits. It also provides for a designated unloading and parking zone for those snowmobiles coming in. The idea is to make it more convenient for the snowmobilers to be able to access those various amenities in the city.
The hotels being referred to are in the southeast quadrant of the city, and bylaws would be required in order to allow for the crossing of roads.
Halewich stated the proposed route itself does not interfere with any residential zones, and would not require any special work beyond putting up signs on the trail in accordance with Snowmobile Act requirements. The signage would be temporary during snowmobile season.
As for the proposed trail itself, the organization acknowledges some permissions need to be confirmed for land not owned by the city and they have been working on getting those in place.
The Trail Breakers currently operates and maintains approx. 480 km of groomed snowmobile trail in the Battlefords and surrounding area. While the new trail is being proposed in time for the major event in February, the idea is for this to be in place for the long term. Halewich saw the major event as the "draw," but "it would be nice to keep it as something more permanent."
Councillor Greg Lightfoot saw another benefit, noting that without a legal snowmobile trail "you could have people coming illegally into the community anyway, because they do need fuel or they will actually park at a hotel."
Lightfoot said having a trail would make it safer for the community and for the patrons using the roads also. "It would make it a better scenario for everybody," he said.
Councillor Kent Lindgren also saw the potential benefits for tourism in bringing people to the Battlefords, referring to a presentation on increasing economic development by Jan Swanson earlier in the meeting. Lindgren called it a "really great example of a tourism draw tied to economic development in our region."
He also pointed to the Trail Breakers being featured in the advertising and promotion for the Battlefords and noted he has feedback from people saying how great the trail system is in the region.
"If we can help support that through some of these means, it goes a long way," said Lindgren.
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