Hiking boot tax? B.C. seeks input on trails strategy, including how to pay for it
Credit to Author: Glenda Luymes| Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2020 00:08:25 +0000
Would you be willing to pay a tax on hiking boots, a mountain bike, or other outdoor equipment, to maintain B.C. trails? What about an annual fee to access the province’s paths?
The B.C. government wants to hear from people who use the province’s vast network of recreation trails as it reviews its trails strategy.
The deadline for public input via an online survey is Friday at 4 p.m.
“We hope to get it out to as many British Columbians as possible,” said Louise Pedersen, executive director of the Outdoor Recreation Council of B.C. and co-chair of the Provincial Trails Advisory Body, the working group created to conduct the review.
“We want to hear from families with young children, seniors, hikers who are seeking solitude and people who enjoy riding horses, or dirt bikes or snowmobiles.”
The survey asks trail users a variety of questions, including why they use trails and what kinds of challenges they see facing B.C.’s trail system. It also asks about barriers that prevent access to trails, including overcrowding and loss of access.
An entire section is dedicated to “user-funded” models for trail building and maintenance.
“Trails in British Columbia are frequently built and maintained by volunteers. While government funding programs are sometimes available, this funding source is not a sustainable source of funds for trail development and maintenance,” says the survey.
It then asks participants to rate several user-pay ideas, including fees at trail heads, a tax on recreation equipment, or a yearly fee to access all trails in B.C. The survey suggests the money could go into a non-governmental fund for the purpose of supporting trail building and maintenance.
A cyclist on the Columbia and Western Rail Trail.
B.C. boasts about 30,000 kilometres of managed trails, which are largely maintained by volunteers. The province has over 500 agreements with volunteer groups who conduct site and trail maintenance.
But outdoor enthusiasts have long been critical about the funding allocated for trail maintenance, as well as the amount of time it takes for new trails to be approved. Meanwhile, several popular trails on the south coast are beginning to suffer from overuse and overcrowding issues.
Pedersen said the outdoor recreation doesn’t have a secure source of funding in B.C., unlike other sports organizations.
“The work is mostly done by volunteers, who need to scramble to buy tools and machinery to do the work,” she said.
The concern is that while B.C. promotes its trails and outdoor experiences to tourists, it doesn’t do enough to fund them, leading to “wear and tear” as well as a diminished experience.
The Trails Strategy for B.C. was originally created in 2013, with the recent review initiated in 2019. The advisory group, which is co-chaired by the Ministry of Forests and the Outdoor Recreation Council, has been in consultation with various stakeholders.
The updated trails strategy will be presented to the provincial government later this year.