The Committee of the Whole on Tuesday voted to dismiss a recommendation maintaining off-road city trails in the winter season.
A study prepared by City Hall staff and an external consultant suggests that Guelph spend $12.3 million over the next decade on 54 kilometres of trails.
If all of the recommendations of the Guelph Active Transportation Network Design Guidelines and Feasability Study were approved, the city would pay $271,000 in annual operational costs.
Two of the original recommendations, as well as two others that were added, will move on to a City Council vote on July 24.
Concerns
Mayor Cam Guthrie, along with others, expressed concerns over allocating finances for trails in Guelph.
Staff could not not answer how much the city currently spends on trails due to its funding being covered by several different departments.
Guthrie said that he didn’t have enough information at this time, asking why the city should “spend money this way.”
On Wednesday morning, Guthrie asked in a tweet what Guelph thinks about maintaining trails, saying “Are trails a priority for you? They are for me, but we have such competing priorities for $.”
What do U think #Guelph? Are trails a priority for you? They are to me, but we have such competing priorities for $. https://t.co/kHHc4D1Pal
— Cam Guthrie (@CamGuthrie) July 5, 2017
More details to follow.
