Friends of Laurentian Nordic Ski Trails

Dennis Consultants has been contracted by the City of Greater Sudbury to update an Environmental Assessment on the proposed University Access Road.  The Environment Assessment will examine the social, economic, natural and technical impact of the proposal. 

If you are concerned about the impact of the proposed University Access Road which will dissect the existing ski trails, walking and biking trails in many locations thus decimating the trail network and destroying one of Sudbury’s finest outdoor recreational facilities, please express your concerns or explain the impact in writing as soon as possible to:

Dennis Consultants
436 Westmount Avenue Unit 6
Sudbury ON 
P3A 5Z8

Attention:
Alex Sorenson: asorensen@rvanderson.com
Armond Therrien: atherrien@rvanderson.com
Tel: 705-560-5555

Download full page PDF version here
Download full page Black and White PDF version here.

As you can see, this proposed road would destroy the majority of our ski trails and countless biking and hiking trails. Many trails are outlined in this map, but many more exist.

Update May 30, 2007
Laurentian Board of Governors official position (April 13th, 2007)

I had heard about this, but never actually saw anything published about it until now. The article states "that the interests of the University and the community will be best served by traffic management and development options that do not involve a new access road through the campus such as currently proposed by the City of Greater Sudbury."

Read the article here,
ou en Francais ici

Laurentian Magazine article "Proposed road through lu trails stirring debate" by Laura Young.
Read it here

Update March 8, 2007
Sudbury Star Article

On March 5th, Sudbury Star published this article: LU board ponders road plan

Update Feb 25, 2007
Notice of Consultation

Notice of Consultation here
Avis De Consultation ici

Thursday, March 1, 2007 at 7:00 p.m.
Lower Fraser Auditorium
Laurentian University
Parking: Lot 1

Dennis Consultants has been retained by the City of Greater Sudbury and is currently updating an Environmental Assessment Study, which recommends the development of a new road on Laurentian University property.

At its February meeting, the Board of Governors mandated its Property Development Committee to solicit the views and opinions of members of the University community, community stakeholders, and interested groups and to subsequently make recommendations to the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors.

aurentian University invites the university community, stakeholders and interested parties or groups to attend the consultation on March 1, 2007 to share their views and comments about the City’s proposal to build a new road on Laurentian University property

Update Feb 25, 2007
Northern Life Article

Thanks to Heidi Ulrichson for writting the article "'No advantage' to second LU access road" published Feb 21, 2007.

Update Dec 2, 2006
LU's Environmental Policy

Here is a copy of Laurentian Univeristy's Environmental Policy. It was passed in June 2006 (only 6 months ago!). This road goes against everything they stand for! Look at item #10 on page 3.

Update Dec 1, 2006
Sudbury Star Article

Sudbury Star Article by Dave Makela titled "Is it too late to save Laurentian trails? Petition aims to stop destruction of south end ski network" dated December 1st, 2006

Update Nov 30, 2006
Northern Life Article

Northern Life Article by Heidi Ulrichsen titled "Hundreds sign petition against second LU access road" dated November 28th, 2006

Update Nov 26, 2006
Detailed Road Plan

A second plan has been made with changes to the road. Unfortunately it doesn't help the trail situation in any way. I will update the colour maps as soon as I have time, but the only difference you would see is that the road swings right by the "Wall to Wall" loop and then heads east and goes backwards along the wall loop and up the extension a little ways before turning north off the trail.

Here is this very detailed document in PDF form. It's 2.5 Mb so I hope you have high speed internet. I will be marking this map with our trails shortly. I just need to find the time.

Update Nov 25, 2006
Sudbury Star Article

Sudbury Star arcticle by Denis St Pierre titled "Second Laurentian University access road a done deal: official".

Update Nov 24, 2006
Olympic Skier Support

Check out the petition! We have Olympic skiers on it! Last time I checked we have Devon Kershaw and Chandra Crawford on it! Thanks guys!

Update Nov 9, 2006
Online Petition

We now have an online petition! Please help save our trails and show your support! Writting your own letter is obviously much more effective and we encourage you to do so, but let's also see how many people we can get on this list!

Petition Links moved to top of this page.

Email News - March 8, 2007
Sudbury Star Poll

A poll is being conducted by the Sudbury star (www.thesudburystar.com) regarding a proposed road on Laurentian property. It took me a few second to spot the poll because it's small, but it's there. Scroll down half way and the poll is on the right hand side just off the center under 'select TV" and the photo gallery.

The question is simply "Does Laurentian University need an access road through its property to link the school to Highway 69?"

I'm not sure how long these polls stay up, so I'd cast your vote ASAP!

Thanks!
Kyle Tarlton and the Friends of Laurentian Nordic Ski Trails

Email News - Feb 25, 2007
LU Access road: community meeting/petition presentation

It has been a while since my last e-mail update, but it's not to say I haven't been reading all your emails that come my way. I appreciate every one of them but let me also apologize for not replying to all of you but I simply don't have the time to reply to every email.

We would like to inform you that there is a public consultation Thursday, March 1, 2007 at 7:00 p.m. in the Lower Fraser Auditorium, Laurentian University (Parking: Lot 1). This meeting is open to all interested parties and we encourage you to come and participate.

Please keep in mind that the "Friends of Laurentian Nordic Ski Trails" is not a radical activist group and we are not going to chain ourselves to trees nor stop bulldozers. Also, Dennis Consultants are a consulting firm, not the ones pushing for this road. Their job is to gather FACTS, and we must therefore provide them with facts and show them how much these trails mean to us and how much effect their loss would be on the community. We are also trying to show them the negative effects of this new road. So please show your support in a respectful way.

I will likely be presenting our petition in printed form (currently over 1500 signatures!), so if you know anyone who hasn’t signed it yet, please ask them to sign it this week!

The official “Notice of Consultation” may be found on our website at www.laurentiannordic.com.

There is also a new Newspaper article on our website from the Northern Life.

Thanks for your time,

Email News - Dec 2, 2006

Once again, there is more information on the LNSC website (www.laurentiannordic.com). There is now a 10 page PDF file (2.5Mb) showing a very detailed plan for the road. It’s slightly different than the original plan which our maps currently show, but the outcome is ultimately the same. It still destroys all the same trails. This new plan goes through our “Wall to Wall” loop, then heads backwards up the wall and the extension before heading north off the trail towards South Bay road. Other than that, it’s pretty much the same.

We’ve also posted Laurentian University’s Environmental Policy which was accepted at their meeting in June. I quote: “ LU will act as a responsible steward of the natural ecology of its lands, including the wildlife, plants and water. ” This was accepted as policy 6 months ago! I would have to say a road would go against everything their policy stands for!

On another note, the article in the paper the other day talked about environmental assessments playing a big part in these decisions. I’m a computer person, not a biologist, so I’m just going to plant the seed here and let everyone else run with this idea. Given the lack of soil and the proximity of all the lakes there, wouldn’t salt from the road and the construction it’s self be devastating to the area?

Clarifications: I would also like to take this opportunity to clarify some misconceptions exist. It’s important that in fighting this road we know exactly what the issues are and what we are actually fighting or we will not seem as credible.

1. This is NOT conservation property. The south part of the road travels through Dalron property; and the north would travel through Laurentian University Property.
2. Construction on the southern part of the road has begun (near the Petro Pass), but this road would be needed for their subdivision anyway and doesn’t need to connect to Laurentian University.
3. As we continue to investigate different road possibilities, it’s becoming increasingly apparent that the second road is not even needed. In either case, we are still fighting for it to not be on our trails. If the road never happens, then all the better. (Clarification - Dec 3rd: not needed for emergency access or traffic reasons which have been the main arguments for the road up until this point. Loache's path is perfectly adequate for emergency access, and traffic concerns can be addressed by 4 laning Ramsey Lake Rd, adding a 3rd multi-directional lane to Ramsey Lake Rd, adding longer turn lanes for parking lots at LU, and changing parking lots so you swipe on the way out instead of on the way in)

Thanks to everyone for all the great comments on the website, and if you have more information that you would like to post, feel free to do so. When I print this for the consultants and politicians I am sorting it by postal code then by last name so we’ll clearly see that you’ve added information because your two postings should come up right next to each other. Some of you also copied me on letters to Dennis Consultants which I have been saving. When the time comes, I’ll be printing everything and presenting it.

Thanks again to all of you!
Kyle Tarlton and the Friends of Laurentian Nordic Ski Trails

Email Update - Nov 25, 2006

I just wanted to send you all a quick note letting you know that there is an article in the Sudbury Star today on page A4 regarding our trails. It is titled “Second Laurentian University access road a done deal: official”. I say it’s not done until it’s done, and until the road is built, there is always time to adjust or move it! Unfortunately the article is not online with Sudbury Star so I’ve made it available on our website.

Secondly, I’ve got our pictures back online! There is over 3000 pictures of racers and students racing and having a great time on these trails. Also, if you have any pictures of your own that you would like on the website, email them to me and I’ll put them up. I’d like to get some Jackrabbit pictures up. The photo album is also hosted on a high speed server now with huge bandwidth so it should be super fast!

Special thanks to Devon Kershaw and Chandra Crawford for signing our petition! These trails are used by skiers from all over for recreation and racing. Please tell everyone you know that we have an online petition that they can sign!

Thanks to everyone for showing their support,
Keep up the good work!

Yours in skiing,
Kyle Tarlton

Sample Information which could be included in your letter to Dennis Consultants

Background

The Laurentian Nordic Ski Trails were established in the ‘70’s through support from Laurentian University and the community.  They have since provided an outstanding venue for recreational and competitive cross country (Nordic) skiing to thousands of citizens and skiers from across Canada.  The summer season transforms these trails into a network of hiking and biking trails. 

Concern

The proposed University Access Road will dissect the existing ski trails, hiking and walking trails in many locations thus decimating the trail network and destroying one of Sudbury’s finest outdoor recreational facilities.

Facts

•  The City of Greater Sudbury suffers from an extremely high incidence of heart disease, cancer etc.  Exercise is known to have a positive impact on incident rates.  The ski, biking and walking trails provide a proactive opportunity to counter the health effects of a sedentary lifestyle.

•  The Children First Charter of the City of Greater Sudbury speaks to the importance of the whole community (public, private and non-profit sectors) working together to provide all children with a quality of life which includes access to recreational and leisure activities and promotes children’s  physical well being.

•  An “Intersectoral Planning For Children:  Health Success Strategies” group has recently recommended that our community…
            •Provide children with an early focus on healthy and active lifestyles;
            •Create an infrastructure such as trails, bike paths…safe walking areas…;
•Provide more opportunities for children to be outside and physically active;
            •Provide resources to insure participation is accessible…;
            •Encourage activity other than team or other organized sports;
•Provide an integration of policies at the municipal, school board and provincial ministerial level that impact on health.

•  Sudbury has worked hard to develop a network of non-motorized trails (See Trails:  A Guide To Non-Motorized Trails in Greater Sudbury).  The goal must be to enhance not destroy the existing network. 

•  Laurentian University is renowned across Canada for its unique outdoor wilderness campus which provides an outdoor wilderness classroom to students in many programs, e.g. Outdoor Adventure Leadership, and a venue for healthy outdoor living while attending university.

•  Thousands of Jackrabbit Skiers(children under 13) have benefited from the effects of healthy outdoor winter activity on the ski trails.

•  The Laurentian Nordic Ski Trails, walking and bike trails,  provide a low cost alternative to high cost recreational activities, e.g. hockey, golf, thus increasing accessibility for all families regardless of income. 

•  Emergency access to the university and surrounding residential areas can be provided through the emergency road access to Loach’s Road.  The emergency access is maintained through the year and has rarely if ever been required. 

•  An upgrade to the access to the Moonlight Beach area would provide a second emergency access to the area. 
•  There are numerous other alternatives to the proposal which would not impact the Laurentian University ski, walking and biking trails. 

•  Traffic congestion from the downtown and New Sudbury areas will not be eased by the proposed road.  Drivers will not go out of their way via Four Corners and south on Highway 69 to avoid a minor bottleneck at two peak hours of the day.

•  Capreol, Levack, Killarney, Sudbury Airport/Lake Wanipitae do not have emergency access parkways,

•  Safety on the parkway will be compromised by high speed drivers ignoring the posted limits. 

•  The roads in the City of Greater Sudbury have been recognized as the poorest in the province of Ontario.  The taxpayers expect a satisfactory level of road maintenance prior to the development of a new parkway which will service a exclusive and limited population.

•  The City of Greater Sudbury cannot afford the luxury of this new ‘parkway’ in the face of so many other needs, e.g. Maley Drive extension.

For further information, please contact
Perry Sakki
President
Laurential Nordic Ski Club
522-0401