Some of the coulee bike paths in Lethbridge, Alta., have begun to degrade due to heavy rainfall and overuse, leading some residents to speak out.
Ralph Arnold, president of the Lethbridge Trail Alliance, says the problems are heightened because there’s nowhere for the water to go on the trails during the rainy season.
“A lot of (the issue) is basically drainage,” said Arnold. “The trail is the drain, unfortunately. It just kind of goes right down and turns into a groove, which mountain bikers don’t like, no one likes.”
He says shale trails see the worst of it, but Adam Duell, the co-owner of Ascent Cycle in Lethbridge, says shale paths are only the beginning.
“The limestone trails definitely take a beating anytime we get heavy rain and they get rutted up; it can be quite dangerous actually. I don’t know what the fix is for those, but they definitely become a bit of a hazard.”
Get daily Lethbridge news
Design is the key to having sustainable bike paths, according to the Lethbridge Trail Alliance.
“This is a particularly egregious example of trail degradation and this is just caused by poor trail design,” said Arnold while examining a rough shale path.
He says the current pathways were simply not built for the reality now facing them.
“A lot of the shale trails in town were not designed for, actually water runoff because we’re a semi-arid environment. The extent of mountain bike use and running use now … they’re getting used a lot more and getting more abuse.”
Lethbridge is certainly not the only municipality dealing with challenging pathways, but Duell says other communities are putting more focus on the infrastructure of their trails, to the delight of riders.
“Places like Medicine Hat, they actually… hire trail builders to come in and build proper machine-style type trails,” said Duell.
Even as other cities make strides, Arnold says Lethbridge is moving in the right direction.
“We’ve got a lot of members of the city itself, the employees who use the coulees and they see what needs to be done.”
He says the city is working with the Lethbridge Trail Alliance to ensure positive change is made in the future, because it affects more than just Lethbridge’s biking community.
“(It’s) better for the local population, but also as a tourist draw,” said Arnold.
Despite the work needed for many trails, Arnold says there is an abundance of natural trails, that started as deer paths, which are already in good condition.
“They tend to be self-draining quite well.”
Duell says many of the natural trails do require additional work because they can easily become overgrown, but they are still effective trails when kept in good order.
Global News reached out to the City of Lethbridge for comment but did not receive a reply by publishing deadline.