A legacy takes shape in Trail

Concrete and steel are shaping some practical, beautiful changes in the City of Trail

by Marie Milner — July 25, 2016

Mike Martin, mayor of Trail, B.C., enjoys the view from the partly-completed Columbia River Skywalk. — Photo courtesy City of Trail

Four months after Mike Martin took office as the mayor of Trail, B.C., he said that he wanted his legacy to be about growth, vitality and pride. Now, about 20 months into his four-year term, Martin and his council are clearly on the way to establishing that legacy.

It’s obvious that the city of Trail is in a dynamic growth phase. The community is excited about construction of the $14.7-million Columbia River Skywalk, a pedestrian-and-cyclist-only suspension bridge across the Columbia River. The project is well underway and is scheduled to be completed this fall.

In fact, the skywalk is a clever accessory that will carry a necessary new sewage line and alternate water line under the bridge decking. The skywalk can also carry designated emergency vehicles if the Victoria Street bridge becomes unusable.

Trail is part of a regional tourism group that operates under the umbrella of Tourism Rossland, headed by Deanna Steven. The skywalk will be tied into the local trail networks and will be part of the Trans Canada Trail System which connects about 15,000 communities across Canada. The skywalk will be one of the longest bridges of this type in North America.

Incidentally, there is no debt associated with the skywalk’s bike-pedestrian component. That portion of the project is being paid for by a gas tax fund.

And on the riverfront

Early in their term, Martin and his council agreed that the skywalk project had first place on the city’s agenda. With that project more than halfway complete, attention is turning to the proposed Riverfront Centre, an $8.4-million combined library-museum complex to be constructed on Bay Avenue, overlooking the Columbia River.

“This matter received very strong support from the community,” said Martin. “We engaged a project manager and an architectural firm to complete the design details. We had an excellent working committee with representatives from the library and the historical society, and we’re delighted with the innovative concept that was put forward.”

The final designs are for a facility that will cost about $1.6 million more than was originally authorized. Martin said that the preferable way to proceed is to borrow the extra funds, as that would allow the City to continue to use its operating capital for other needed infrastructure projects. The tax burden for Trail residents would be negligible.

“We are blessed to have a major industrial taxpayer, Teck Resources, in our community,” Martin said. “To pay for the extra funds, the residential tax increase for the average household in Trail would be about $8.00 per year for 25 years.”

Terminal funds from the province

Trail’s airport recently received a big economic boost from the provincial government. Currently, the Trail Flying Club generously allows its clubhouse to be used as the Trail airport’s terminal building. Though pleasant and appreciated, this arrangement is far from adequate. On June 21, in response to the City’s application to the Ministry of Transport, the provincial government announced a grant of $1.18 million for construction of a new terminal building.

“The building itself will be a prefabricated steel building set on a concrete pad, so it won’t require much in the way of construction,” said Martin. “However, we’ll need to employ people to enlarge the parking lot, create the building access and complete the interior of the building.”

One more project that’s being planned is a new skate park. Martin said that the City hopes to acquire funding from Columbia Basin Trust for this amenity in the near future—possibly as early as 2017.

These ambitious projects, along with the routine administration of City business, have placed quite a demand on Martin and the City council. The mayor admitted with a laugh that he’s had to learn a lot and do it quickly.

“We put together a strategic plan as a council when we took office in late 2014, and we’ll be revisiting that plan this fall,” he said. “It will be interesting to see what we’ve accomplished in less than two years in office. Things have come together very nicely.”

A few details from behind the scenes:

Columbia River Skywalk was designed by Buckland & Taylor, now owned by COWI North America. “We were really surprised at how the nearby residents embraced the project in spite of the noise and the vibration, especially in the early stages,” said Mike Martin. “We had no issues and no complaints, and in fact it was a huge attraction for the whole community to watch this work going on. People are already talking about taking their first walk across the bridge.”
General contractor for the skywalk project is Graham Infrastructure. “They’re a wonderful group to work with,” said Martin. “The work itself is top quality, they’ve kept the project essentially on schedule and they’ve been a delight to have in the community.” Supplementary work is being done by local subcontractors and labour.
Once the sewer line is relocated, the old bridge will be dismantled and removed. For the first half of its functioning life, the old bridge was owned by the province, and then it was sold to the City of Trail for one dollar. The City has maintained the bridge since then and will ask the province to help fund the removal process.