A group of landowners opposed to a recreation corridor on abandoned CN Rail land near Bonnyville, Alta., will be in court March 17 to try to stop the trail.
Darlene St. Jean, lawyer for the Bonnyville Adjacent Landowners Group, said they want the Court of Queen’s Bench judge to halt recreation use on the abandoned rail bed until the landowners’ concerns are answered.
In October 2001, voters in the counties of St. Paul and Smoky Lake voted in favour of the rail line becoming a public use trail. But the voters in the municipal district of Bonnyville voted against recreational use on the same line.
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After the vote, 10 surrounding municipalities formed North East Muni-Corr and bought the abandoned land to use as a public utility corridor where water lines and fibre optic cables could be laid. Later, all the municipalities approved the trail for recreation use as well. The MD of Bonnyville was the last to approve a trail development permit for Muni-Corr on the 72-kilometre line through the municipality.
Marlene Griffith of Bonnyville said landowners next to the trail have no problems with the land being used for public utilities, but they don’t want it used for recreation.
She said adjacent landowners are tired of dealing with people on snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles who ride on their land and they fear the problem will grow if the recreation trail is developed further.
Griffith said the group hopes the judge will halt development until a decision is made on whether the October vote is binding.
They also said going ahead with the recreation corridor is in breach of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Alberta Bill of Rights.
Robert Bouchard, chair of the 10-municipality Muni-Corr and reeve of the county of St. Paul, said only a small number of people are opposed to recreation activity on the trail.
Most of the trail has been graded and packed. Muni-Corr has agreed not to proceed with any improvements on the Bonnyville section of the trail until the court case has been decided.
