Trail 77 on track for 45 km of network

Posted on May 8, 2025 by Taber Times

By Cal Braid
Taber Times
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

At the April 28 meeting of town council, delegates Steve Van Geest and Klaas Hoekstra from Trail 77 asked the Town for $100,000 to help complete the club’s trail master plan. Trail 77 manages and maintains a network of trails in the Oldman coulee for recreational users like hikers, runners, and mountain bikers.

 “We are aiming for about 45 kilometres of total trail network,” Hoekstra told council. “We are just over 30 kilometres with the new additions that we have by the Horsefly Spillway area. In 2019, we started with 12-15 kilometres, so we have made great additions for people.”

 Annual racing events like Taber Tuff, Oldman Mayhem, Tuff Oldman, and Gnarly Niblets complement the group’s regular events.

 Trail 77 has invested over $24,000 into trail development through its own memberships and events and purchased over $5,000 in tools and supplies for trail building. It has received financial contributions through donations and in-kind agreements from businesses and residents.

 Since its inception in 2020, Trail 77 has averaged between 150 and 180 members each year. The group achieved 400 plus hours of volunteer work and trail maintenance in 2020-2023 and over 600 hours in 2024.

 “The approximate cost to build is about $20,000-$30,000 per kilometre,” Hoekstra said. “It depends on the variables. This is high quality work.”

 Trail 77 has consulted and worked with Western Trail Fabricators Ltd. out of Redcliff to figure out how to best develop the north coulee for multi-use trails. It wants to develop the mountain bike optimized multi-use trail network and extend it to the south. The plan also includes three to four additional kilometres of running trails near the trout pond.

 Hoekstra emphasized the importance of building introductory trails that are safe for novice or young riders and said there’s a noticeable difference between the original work the club did itself and the work that’s been done by the professional trail builder. He asked the Town to match the fundraising done by the group so that it could complete its master plan by 2026.

 “We’re hoping that the Town would consider matching up to $100,000 in donations,” he said. “We know that’s a big ask. We are definitely open to some sort of variable over two or three years.”

 Coun. Remfert asked who the long-term maintenance costs would fall to once the trail additions were complete. Van Geest told him that those costs would remain a Trail 77 initiative through its members and volunteers.

 Coun. Bekkering pointed out that the recreation board had redirected the delegates request to council and asked, “What was the general feeling of the rec board regarding the hundred thousand bucks?”

 “They loved it,” Hoekstra said with a grin, getting a good laugh from council.

 “Yeah, sure. Can you prove that, sir?” Bekkering said.

 “I’m not sure if they were willing to move on any motion in that regard, but I think the fact that they granted us this request to come forward to you speaks about support for what we are doing,” Hoekstra answered.

 Trail 77 has completed over $510,000, including $300,000 in pump track work, with $60,000 in financial help coming from the MD and Town. Those contributions have been:

– 2020 MD $5,000, Town $5,000, total $10,000

– 2021 MD $5,000, Town $5,000, total $10,000

– 2022 MD $5,000,Town $5,000, total $10,000

– 2023 MD $5,000, Town $5,000, total $10,000

– 2024 MD $10,000 ,Town $10,000, total $20,000

   The group added clarity by defining a few of its terms. ‘Multi-use trail’ refers to any trail that would have designed use and appeal to multiple groups of non-motorized users. Multi-use trails accommodate a broader variety of users, whereas single-use or restricted-use trails tend to concentrate users, according to Trail 77.

 ‘Mountain bike optimized’ trails feature specific enhancements to the mountain biking experience and can be located on shared-use, single-use, or preferred-use trails. The presentation explained that “a small feature placed strategically within the trail corridor would be enjoyed by riders but could go unnoticed by other trail users.”

 Mountain bike optimized features could include rollers, small berms, rock gardens, slow speed technical features, and clear sightlines on faster trail sections.

 Council ultimately moved in favour of having the administration draft a recommendation that conditionally matched funds from the MD up to $100,000. The motion signalled council’s willingness to continue to support the club financially and help it achieve its goals.