Fifteen joined this ASK Salt Spring gathering to welcome Island Pathways’ Robin Jenkinson to talk about Salt Spring’s proposed Salish Sea Trail. During her Land Acknowledgement, she reminded us that our trails today often follow age-old First Nations routes. We also learned that many of our roadbeds are artifact-rich as they were first constructed using crushed shells from local middens. When we introduced ourselves, we learned that participants at this gathering were a mixture of avid cyclists and those who do not feel safe enough cycling on Salt Spring. In addition to locals, we were pleased to welcome participants from Gabriola and Pender Islands to share their trail advocacy successes and challenges.

Robin shared her “excitement and delight” with her recent visits to other islands, both to learn from them as well as to gain what she characterized as an archipelagic perspective. One outgrowth of this pan-island perspective is her recent acceptance of the coordination of our June 20-21 Tours des Isles ( https://www.tourdesiles.ca/) event now also offering robust multi-island cycling opportunities. 

She is also delighted with her Island Pathways (https://islandpathways.ca/) role as its enthusiastic advocate for the long-awaited completion of Salt Spring’s multi-use trail from Fulford to Vesuvius, the last remaining link for the Salish Sea Trail Loop (https://islandpathways.ca/salish-sea-trail/). 

Before focusing on this Salish Sea Trail Loop, we spent a few moments learning about all the other activities of Island Pathways. Established in 1988, Island Pathways has touched nearly every Salt Springer with its network of safe walking routes around Ganges (with the Merchant Mews pathway currently under construction), its 36 bike racks, multiple handmade benches all around the island (thanks, Donald!), the over 700 elementary school students who got a well-fitting helmet for only $10, and well-loved maps on our ferries as well as for sale all around Salt Spring.

We also learned about new, creative initiatives that include a street sweeper powered by an electric bike to sweep debris off our shoulders, keeping cyclists safer. And. . . have you heard about our Cycling Without Age (https://cyclingwithoutage.ca/) rickshaw-like electric bike complete with a couch and blankets ready to take seniors and others who can no longer bike on an exhilarating (but safe) ride around Ganges? 

And, for cyclists, Island Pathways offers a variety of fun events. What about joining one of the GoByBikeBC events this spring from May 30 through June 5? You may begin with the rebirth of a traditional Bicycle Bob Memorial Cycle event from 10-noon Saturday, May 30 beginning at Portlock Park, cycling to Southy Point, and returning to Portlock with lots of good riding as well as ample breaks for treats along the way. 

Ever heard of Bicycle Bob? If you are an old time Salt Springer, you almost certainly have. Avid cyclist, Bob passed away in 1999, but he is remembered by cycling events as well as the recently unearthed paved bike path built in 2000 in his name along Portlock Park.

The most audacious initiative among all these projects is the Salt Spring Salish Sea Trail, a 21 km multi-use route from Fulford to Vesuvius that would link to the existing 186 km route, finally completing this important active transportation loop (https://islandpathways.ca/salish-sea-trail/). 

Initiated in the early 2020s, a working group attended by key local, provincial, and federal staff and elected officials; Island Pathways; and other community groups met monthly to create the partnerships needed to move this large project forward. A key success of this group is the recently-completed feasibility study including a prioritization of the segments along the entire length of this trail. 

A partner, CRD Regional Parks, has taken responsibility for the Central to Vesuvius portion of the trail, allocating design funds for the first segment, Central to the first Mobrae, in 2027 with construction budgeted several years later. Both Island Pathways and the Local Community Commission have lobbied hard to get the design budget moved to 2026, with no success as yet.

Anxious to move this project forward more quickly, private donors and Island Pathways have just funded and completed a survey of this first segment. 

This allocation of funding for the Vesuvius Bay portion of the trail is great news, a long-overdue project for Salt Spring after hundreds of thousands of dollars of local tax money requisitioned by CRD Regional Parks over the years with no return on this investment. Despite this good news, it is only a small portion of what is needed to complete this important trail. 

Our guests from Pender and Gabriola spoke of similar challenges – waiting years for small portions of what is needed and then watching as CRD Regional Parks turned its attention to another of our islands. They warned that, if we waited for CRD Regional Parks to complete even their Vesuvius Bay portion of the multi-use trail, we could be waiting for decades. Their advice was simple and strategic: Encourage CRD Regional Parks to move as quickly as possible, supporting their efforts whenever allowed. But, don’t stop there! Instead, also actively pursue provincial and federal funding. (To further explore federal funding, some committed to return to ASK Salt Spring this Friday to ask MP Elizabeth May for her support, 11-1, SIMS classroom.)

And, don’t stop with just government advocacy! Our Pender and Gabriola guests strongly encouraged us to also move forward locally raising donations, talking to adjacent landowners about donating strip easements, and, in some cases, funding and building a needed pathway on our own. 

The clear message was that raising the millions of dollars needed to complete our portion of the Salish Sea Trail Network will take a variety of simultaneous initiatives led by tenacious Island Pathways volunteers and counting on the generosity of our community. Interested in joining other locals who have already donated to this important project? Our Salt Spring Island Foundation has set up a fund awaiting your donation (https://ssifoundation.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=1598). With the goal of raising $500,000 in 2026, this money will leverage federal, provincial, and local funding to get the job done. You can be part of the solution! 

Clear about the strategy to move forward, we then began to brainstorm about our wishes, barriers, unique opportunities, and solutions. Some of the input included:  

Wishes: 

• “Wouldn’t it be great if there were fun things to do and services, especially campsites, along the route?” 
• “I wish some of our most able would give a really, really big donation to get the ball rolling.” 
• “I have a dream that all Gulf Islands residents could walk/cycle to work and play, living a healthier lifestyle.”
• “I would love to see a Tofino to Uculet-like trail on Salt Spring.”
• “With this safe active transportation trail, our youth would have more of the independence they need and deserve.” 
• “I wish our community were more involved making this happen.”

Barriers:

• “$$$!”
• “Could CRD Regional Parks’ involvement be a barrier as well as an opportunity?”
• “Is Salt Spring’s tenacity a barrier, encouraging agencies to see us as TFI – “That Frigging Island?” 
• “Is it smart to leave this entire project under governmental control?”
• “Most CRD Directors are from Vancouver Islands and will vote their own interest.”
• “Will the CRD Victoria decide this route is a less important recreational route or will they see it as a key commuter route?”

Unique Opportunities:

• Professional survey on a portion has already been completed.
• Off-road property easements from willing landowners could be sought.
• “Could our proposed HarbourWalk be part of this trail?” 
• What about bike and ferry holiday packages?
• “Have we considered doing it ourselves?” Buy the needed materials and make our own pathways – possibly even adding the speed humps we want :)?”

Solutions: 

• The CRD (both local and regional), province, federal government, and local donors need to work together to make it happen.
• Should we do a segment now to show it can be done. . .or. . .save money by doing it all at once? 

As our time together drew to a close, there was a great deal of energy in the room to, at last – after 30 years of planning – make this Salt Spring Salish Sea Trail a reality. 

• Will this progress be accomplished one small step at a time? 
• Will it leap forward with a large donor who generates the interest needed to secure provincial and federal funds? 
• Will energy for this important, but very complex, project lag, putting hopes on the shelf again for decades? 

As we left, there was a deep appreciation for the hard work, vision, tenacity, and pure grit of Robin and the Island Pathways Team, as well as a clear understanding that, if this project is to be completed within the decade, it will require help and funding from all levels of government as well as from us! (Thanks Robin and her Team!) 

Just in case you are interested. . . .This report has been written by Gayle Baker, founder of ASK Salt Spring, currently also a Salt Spring Local Community Commissioner. It has been reviewed by Robin and her Team.