Railway Transformation | Sentiers Chelsea Trails

Petition results send Council strong message of support for Community Trail project

by sentierschelseatrails | May 2, 2017 | Railway Transformation, Winter Trail Updates

CHELSEA, QC, May 1 , 2017 – Tonight, the Chelsea Community Trail Coalition will present the powerful results of a petition to the Chelsea Municipal Council to voice their collective support of a viable recreational option for the former Chelsea rail corridor.

Presentation1 The online petition, OuiChelsea.ca, signed by more than 1,560 people, was launched last fall by a new coalition made up of six community groups who joined forces. They include: Sentiers Chelsea Trails, Rails2Trails, Chelsea Action for the Respect of the Environment (ACRE), Cascades Club, Friends of the Gatineau River (FOG) and Loisirs Chelsea Nord Farm Point. The purpose of the petition is to provide Chelsea Municipal Council a clear snapshot of the support by residents across the municipality. (more…)

Time Again to Get Ready for Winter along the Rail Corridor – a Call for Volunteers!

by sentierschelseatrails | Oct 19, 2016 | Members & Volunteers, Railway Transformation, Winter Trail Updates, Work Bees

Time Again to Get Ready for Winter along the Rail Corridor – a Call for Volunteers!

Snow is not too far away! And once it comes, the rail corridor will transform, as it has for the past 10 years, into a beautiful ski and walking trail along the river.

But this only happens thanks to the efforts of volunteers who clear out obstructing weeds and brush before that snow flies. If you have free time in the morning on Saturday November 12th or 19th, and would enjoy some exercise, comradery, and being plied with goodies and coffee, see this call for volunteers for more information and to sign-up.

This year will also bring another installment of historical signage along the trail, this time focusing on “New Chelsea” – the area around Mill St, including Chelsea’s first schoolhouse and train station.

Sponsors play a key role in making all this happen. SCT is grateful for the generous donations from the Chelsea Pub, Greg Christie’s Ski and Bike, Lafleur de la Capitale, Physiosport Chelsea, and the Nordik Spa. Funds will be used for the signage and to offset a significant portion of the costs of winter grooming.

Many seniors in our community have written letters to SCT to tell us how the winter trail helps them to exercise in winter – the trail is remarkably flat and level once the snow is packed down, making it a safer option for a stroll than the narrow roads in nearby neighbourhoods. There have also been reports of people skiing to Freshmart for groceries. What a life in Chelsea!

Big crowd comes to hear benefits of rails trails

by sentierschelseatrails | Jun 16, 2016 | Railway Transformation

More than 100 residents packed into the Cascades Club last night to hear about the opportunities and benefits of turning Chelsea’s railway corridor into a year round, multi-purpose trail. The meeting was organized by Chelsea Rails 2 Trails, a newly formed group seeking to provide information and mobilize support for the rails to trails project under consideration by the Municipality. If you missed last night’s meeting, you can take a look at the presentation.

New SCT Trail Ambassadors stand up for Chelsea community trail project

by sentierschelseatrails | Apr 27, 2016 | Railway Transformation

At the Sentiers Chelsea Trails AGM, which was held April 25, attendees welcomed many of the new Chelsea Trail Ambassadors who are speaking up to support the transformation of the railway corridor into a multi-use, non-motorized, year-round community trail. These prominent Chelsea residents and community leaders want to lend their names and contribute to the future of this community-building project.

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Getting to work on the transformation of tracks project

by sentierschelseatrails | Feb 9, 2016 | Railway Transformation

As many of you know, Chelsea Trails supports transforming the railway corridor into a linear park. This unique corridor of land, belonging to Chelsea, runs the entire length of the municipality alongside a beautiful river, and connects numerous neighbourhoods. It has been used by Chelsea residents for 10 years as a very popular Winter Community Trail, and we believe there would be great benefits if it were expanded for year around use. (more…)

SCT presents new vision for transformation of Chelsea’s railway corridor

by sentierschelseatrails | Mar 31, 2015 | Railway Transformation

At the invitation of the Mayor and the Director General, Sentiers Chelsea Trails (SCT) made a presentation on its vision for the future use of the rail corridor this week. This vision calls for the creation of a 19.9 km year-round linear park and non-motorized trail running from Loretta Loop to Morrison Quarry.

This vision to convert the rails to trails flows out of the recommendations made in the Active Transport Master Plan commissioned and adopted by Council last year. In that plan, the railway corridor was identified as a ‘structural element’ and a key active transport corridor. (more…)

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