Letter about the Simcoe County Loop

Dear Kathryn Stephenson 

 Manager Simcoe County Tourism

   I restarted the historic Montreal Bicycle Club in 2017 in order to promote cycling as a sustainable form of transportation and tourism.   Like the original club on the 1800's, we have multiple "Fixture" rides around the Montreal area as well as multi day excursions to bicycle trails further afield.  Some of the better known trails we have done include the P'tit Train du Nord (200 km, 2-4 August 2019) in the Laurentians, The Veloroute des Bleuets (250 km, 8-12 August 2018) around Lac St Jean and the combination Great Allegheny Passage and C&O Canal paths (540- km April 2018) between Pittsburgh and Washington DC.

   This year over Labour Day weekend the club and family members did the Simcoe County Loop (160 km 1-2 Sept 2019) and I would like to share with you my thoughts about this trail and how it compares to some other trails I have taken.

1.   Starting / End Point

    There should be a defined starting point at a prominent location so that the trail is promoted.  The linear P'tit Train du Nord trail, uses as a starting point an archway in a park in central St Jerome. The park is near the Montreal commuter rail station. Markers are placed every km from that starting point.

  Similarly the linear GAP trail has monuments at both the Pittsburgh end (starting point located in Point State Park) and the Cumberland MD transition to the C&O canal path.  Both of these are in the principal parks near the downtown of each city.  The starting point of the Veloroute des Bleuets is less clearly defined. It is also a loop trail with it's offices and headquarters beside the trail near Alma. This Veloroute does not have distance markers.

   I believe that Barrie's Allandale GO Train station forms the natural starting point of the Simcoe County Loop Trail.  The best way for bicycle tourists to arrive is by train and the station is located beside a waterfront park near downtown Barrie.  The trail should have a monument of some sort in the Barrie waterfront Centennial park to mark the starting point of the trail.  Distance markers could be added to the loop from that point.

2. GO Train Connections

   Presently there are no morning GO Trains from Toronto to Barrie.  Similarly there are no afternoon or evening GO trains from Barrie to Toronto.  Presumably this will be expanded in the future and rail connection to the Simcoe County Loop from Toronto will be similar to the EXO rail connection St Jerome and the P'tit Train du Nord from Montreal.  Our club often uses this train from Montreal to St Jerome as well as other trains to Dorion, St Constant, Deux Montagnes or Repentigny for Fixture bicycle rides.  The only Montreal commuter train we do not use is the one to Mont St Hilaire which like Barrie does not have morning train leaving the city.   GO buses, which can take only 2 bicycles each would be of little use for groups planning to do an excursion on the trail.

3. Trail Management

    The Simcoe County Loop Trail has a multitude of names  depending upon which section is being referred to.  The bulk of the loop from Barrie to Orillia via Elmvale is part of the Trans Canada Trail.  Smaller trails that combine to form the Simcoe County Loop include the North Simcoe Rail Trail, Orillia Millennium Trail, Oro-Medonte Rail Trail, Penetanguishene Trail, Route Champlain, Midland Rotary Waterfront Trail, Tay Shore Trail, Tiny Trail, Uhthoff Trail and others that I think are associated with various snowmobile clubs.  This multitude of names is no doubt a reflection of the fact that the trail is owned or operated by multiple bodies.  This is also apparent by varying trail surfaces, asphalt, finely crushed gravel, coarse gravel, and dirt, all of which are used.

    Velo Quebec, a province wide body that promotes cycling and sets engineering standards for the intercity Route Verte bicycle path network, seems to lack an Ontario equivalent.  The closest thing I could find was Cycle Ontario website. This site lists all the subtrails I mentioned but makes no reference to the overall Simcoe County Loop Trail or the much larger Trans Canada Trail.

     The Simcoe County Loop bicycle path should connect to the Georgian Trail which runs between Collingwood and Meaford.  This would be a major tourist draw to the region as cycling alongside Georgian Bay has very strong appeal.  Many would also like to be able to bicycle directly from their own homes and better cycling connection to the GTA is also needed.

   In order to build such network of intercity bicycle paths that promote sustainable tourism in Ontario there should be a provincial body to set engineering standards and give a vision of where the paths should be built.  This body could be built from the bottom up by combining cycling, business and tourism organizations or from the top down by provincial government decree.

4. Trail Name

    The name Simcoe Trail name undoubtedly comes from Simcoe County, the government level in charge of the county loop.  This results in the same trail having various names that vary along its path depending on the national, county, or city level.  Successful trail brand names have something unique about the entire trail,  The P'tit Train du Nord chooses the nickname of the former rail line, The Great Allegeny Passage refers to a route through the Appalachian mountains and Veloroute des Bleuets a nickname given to the people of Lac St Jean.

     Due to the growing demand for sustainable forms of tourism, and the role to cycle tourism within that, at some point in time the Simcoe County Loop Trail will be connected to the Georgian Trail.  I think the combined trail should be named the Wendat trail, the name of the people who lived in this region long before Champlain visited them. 

Signs and monuments (many of which already do) that display this history alongside the trail should be further encouraged. I question however whether the branding provided by the name Simcoe County Loop Trail is the best choice of name.

    On the 12 September I visited the First Nations Hotel Museum in Wendake Quebec as part of a club ride along the Vélopiste Jacques-Cartier/Portneuf  from Rivière-à-Pierre to Quebec City.  It has an extensive display of items related to the Wendat nation in what is now Simcoe County. This Museum is located immediately beside the bicycle path's extension into Quebec City.

5.  Public Awareness of the Trail

     When the Simcoe County Loop Trail crosses a road I was surprised to find that there is no line painting on the road indicating to motorists that there is a bicycle path crossing.

     Leaving aside the very obvious safety issues for the moment, this lack of line painting is a missed opportunity to enhance the public's awareness of the fact that a 160 km contiguous bike path exists right under their noses.  Having ridden the entire loop over Labour Day weekend I found very few people in the restaurants, hotels or just walking in the streets who were aware that their local bicycle path was part of such a network and could act as a tourist draw.

6.  Path Right of Way

   Entering Elmvale from the north, it was clear that the bicycle path had been moved to a busy road with no paved shoulders.  This section is being made unsafe and threatens to destroy the tourism viability of the entire loop.  It seems that there is a legal dispute about the right of way of the path and people are building houses on what was the Simcoe County Loop / Trans Canada Trail and a former rail line.

     In summary I wish to congratulate Simcoe County in their efforts to build the genesis of a more extensive intercity bicycle path network in their region. Most the loop trail is complete with the exception of some of the connections between Elmvale and Barrie.  I was very impressed by the natural beauty of the trail and the wide variety of natural environments it shows.  Having grown up in Orillia I was amazed by how different the region looks as seen from this bicycle path than it does from within a car.  Well done!!!

Malcolm McRae