October 2015 Update
The Shore Active Transportation Association (SATA) was busy this summer. Many of our activities and events were led by our 10-week summer student, Anika Riopel. She coordinated our Bike Week events, Lake and Shore Days participation, and the community summer fair, as well as working with the local recreation centers to offer Making Tracks programs to youth. SATA and the community gained much from having Anika’s energy and enthusiasm for the summer.
We were pleased to announce that we received $20,000 through the Department of Energy’s Connect2 sustainable transportation grant program, an amount to be matched with funding from the Halifax Regional Municipality for a total of $40,000. These funds will be used to prepare a design for a greenway along the old railway line to offer a safe, accessible connection between Gaetz Brook Junior High and surrounding neighbourhoods. This corridor is an important step in connecting communities across the Eastern Shore as part of the challenge to connect the Trans Canada Trail (TCT) in Nova Scotia by 2017.
SATA is focusing on closing the 15km gap in the TCT between Porters Lake and Musquodoboit Harbour. We have divided this work into 3 sections:
1. The Core Greenway – a connector between Blueberry Run trail and Porter’s Lake Elementary around the Metrox Park and ride. HRM has put the first section to tender this fall and hope it will be awarded soon.
2. Acadian Marsh Greenway – A safe trail along the 107. A feasibility study is under way for the best routing for this section across the Chezzetcook Marsh with a completion date for that study early this fall
3. The Gaetz Brook Connector –We are seeking a Letter of Authority from DNR to work on this section and develop an Active Transportation Route to our Junior High. The Connect2 funding will get us started on this project.
Our usual outings are on weekday mornings and are open to all. Details for all activities are on our calendar http://shoreat.ca . Last minute changes due to weather or other conditions will also be posted on SATA’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/groups/ATShore/).
