City of Kimberley Mayor Don McCormick recently outlined the fate of the Peak-to-Platzl trail.

“In 2022, the city hired geotechnical engineers to assess instability issues obvious to the naked eye and provide feedback on options for a fix. Two separate firms have provided reports. Their conclusion is that the slope is currently unsafe and will continue to erode – both walls and the staircase have now failed,” he stated on social media.

“There is no obvious design for rebuilding that meets current engineering standards for this work. Based on technical observation, new wall structures would not be satisfactory for public safety. Ground stability remains poor. To move beyond ground observations would mean more money for subsurface investigation; after spending up to another $100,000 on this investigation, it is highly likely to confirm what has already been concluded: that there is not an obvious fix, north of $1 million would be needed to rebuild the trail…and there would be no guarantee that it would fix the problem.

“All of this has led to a prudent staff recommendation to decommission that portion of the trail. Options for navigating around that section of the trail were weighed, and taking advantage of an existing shared trail was recommended as a timely, cost-effective option.

“This recommended extension is not a walk in the woods; it is a poor aesthetic alternative to the treed section of the trail in question. But it is what we have to work with; it will enable the purpose for the trail in the first place – to enable people to safely travel on foot from the resort to the Platzl.

“A long-term approach to replacement will need to be assessed with the other capital asset priorities. For example, stopping the 40% water loss we experience with aged out water pipes; or the several priority capital projects in the five-year financial plan that are not funded, and are mostly grant dependent,” Mayor McCormick said.

“Rebuilding this section of the trail would also be grant dependent. We have no idea when grant money may become available. This is why moving the future reinvestment in this trail to the Active Transportation Committee makes the most sense. It can be assessed along with the other connector projects that the committee promotes.

“In the meantime, we have two geotechnical firms whose engineers have concluded we have a serious public safety issue that needs urgent attention.

“Council directed staff to “instruct the city’s consulting engineers to follow through to completion the work they have commenced to develop a design for the decommissioning and rehabilitation of the section of the Peak-to-Platzl Trail below Norton Avenue, and direct that the results of that design work be brought back to a future meeting for Council’s consideration prior to any decommissioning or rehabilitation efforts being initiated.”

“This decommissioning design is expected before Christmas. In the meantime, the trail remains open. Any closure will not likely happen until spring or summer – unless there is continued shifting of the hillside.

“This is not a popular solution – with anyone. But it is what we have to work with considering public safety, time and money,” McCormick concluded.

Lead image: Mayor Don McCormick addressed an audience of about 60 residents during an August 12 State of the City event at Centre 64. Ian Cobb/e-KNOW photo

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