Nitya Harris talks excitedly about the potential for new West Shore trails as she walks along a rarely used trail off Woodruff Road in Metchosin.
The timing is right, she says, to give this existing trail that follows Metchosin Creek a little tender loving care. It connects to Neild Road, allowing users to hook up with the Galloping Goose Regional Trail, giving them easy access to the heart of Langford as well as Metchosin village.
“This is a very important trail,” she says, while pointing to a map and explaining the various options it could open up for residents. “If they can make this connection, then it just opens up all these different loops through the Trans-Canada Trail, the E&N Trail, through Humpack Road – we can have all kinds of loops for biking and hiking.”
Harris, part of the group that spearheaded the Galloping Goose project in the 1990s, used to frequent the unnamed trail after receiving permission from the property’s previous owner, but hasn’t ventured along the route since the land changed hands.
“It’s a beautiful spot to bike and hike,” she said, noting that some sections need work, including some small creek crossings and places where wildly growing vegetation has taken over.
Much of the trail forges through land that is part of a land swap involving Metchosin, Langford and Beecher Bay First Nation. Harris said that makes this the perfect time to look at cleaning the trail up and opening it to the public.
Metchosin Mayor John Ranns has said that trails in the parcel of treaty land re-acquired from Beecher Bay are likely to be considered and that a route connecting the Galloping Goose with Sooke Hills Regional Park would make sense. However, there is private property in between the two pieces of land.
“It’s something that we’ve thought about for many years, having that connection (go) straight through,” he says, adding that the area is already used as a corridor by cyclists.
Metchosin will acquire 112 acres stemming from the land swap shortly, with the 250 acres of treaty land to follow once the treaty is signed.
All 362 acres are to be kept as green space, and Ranns says council will look to get the community involved when considering what to do with the land.
“We have a parks and trails committee and certainly they will be tasked with a lot of planning … this is a substantial amount of park land that we’re going to have.
“It’s a matter of what type of recreation we want on it, what areas we want to be able to preserve or protect from an environmental perspective.”
