Walking advocate wants Whitehorse's Schwatka Lake project to include trail expansion

The City of Whitehorse wants to extend the public boat and float plane launch at Schwatka Lake, and to build a new parking lot across the road — and that's got one local walking advocate thinking about how to improve a nearby trail at the same time.

While the city's proposal will address the longstanding issue of traffic congestion in the area, it will require about 70 meters of a local walking trail to be re-routed.

Peter Long, a local walking advocate, says this presents the perfect opportunity to extend the trail system and get pedestrians off Miles Canyon Road.

"I walk around Whitehorse a fair bit, and I've walked that particular area a couple of times," said Long, regarding the forest across the street from the boat launch. "When you're back there you're walking beside the railway tracks for part of it, but it's not a trail."

The trailhead for the 15-kilometre Yukon River Loop trail is directly across from the boat launch. Extending that trail by 500 meters would allow people to go directly into the woods after coming off of Robert Service Way to get around the Whitehorse dam. While some people already cut through the woods, Long says it could easily be made more accessible.

"We need to make our trails a little bit better if we want to promote them to tourists," he said. "It always makes me sad to see people walking down Miles Canyon Road while trailers and motorhomes are driving by."

Long has made a list of 30 things the City of Whitehorse can do to improve the pedestrian experience, and this trail addition is one of them.

The Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board (YESAB) is currently reviewing the city's proposal. Public comments have been largely positive concerning the plan, and dock users are welcoming the parking lot expansion.

"In the last few years there have been so many trucks and trailers that people literally couldn't get their boats out," said Gerd Mannsperger, the chief pilot with Alpine Aviation. "In the evenings, Alcan Air couldn't even drive into their yard.

"It certainly will be very, very helpful for everybody, and for general safety, to be able to disperse all that clutter into some orderly parking."