Frequently Asked Questions about Lakeside Trail

  1. Why is the Lakeside Trail Important?
    • Think of the Seawall in Vancouver, the Valley Trail in Whistler, the Lakefront Walk in Chicago and so many other iconic pedestrian walkways around the world. Why do they exist ? Quite simply, because the public loves them. And the residents and visitors to Cultus Lake will love the Lakeside Trail in the same way. This trail will be a community amenity of the first order and a legacy for generations to follow.
    • The bottom line is that we will build a safe, engaging and beautiful nature trail from Sunny side to Frosst creek….the full length of the lake with a variety of stops of interest along the way.
  2. What is the status of the project?
    • Through the efforts of a small group of dedicated volunteers, the Lakeside Trail has already gained unanimous support among all the property owners and interest groups around the lake.  Leveraging that support, the Lakeside Trail Society has engaged government agencies and garnered their support as well.
    • The Department of Highways (M.O.T.H.) showed their support by commissioning Urban Systems, a national urban planning company, to do a preliminary layout for the entire trail as well as a high level cost analysis. We are most appreciative of MOTH’s efforts to make out trail a reality.
    • Phase one extends from Leisure Valley, the south end of the trail, to Maple Bay.  We expect to see construction on phase 1 to begin in October 2016.
    • Our current estimate of a timeline for the project is a possible 5 year completion. This is a major construction project and there are a number of hurdles to clear, but we plan to actively manage those hurdles to make project completion as fast and economical as possible.
  3. What does it mean to support the trail?
    • There are many ways to support the Trail..
      • Financial contribution
      • Volunteer – your skills are needed! From technical to muscle to promotional – we need your help! Drop us a note!
      • Be an active champion of the The Lakeside Trail
  4. How Much will this cost?
    • A rough estimate of the cost of the entire trail from one end of the lake to the other is $2 million.  The estimate is rough at this point because we have a great deal to learn about the engineering and construction costs of certain difficult parts of the trail, but we feel that our estimate is reasonably close.
    • The mixture of funding for the $2 million dollars at this point is assumed to be:
BC Department of Highways$1,400,000
Fraser Valley Regional District$400,000
Lakeside Trail Society – Fundraising/Private Donations$200,000
BC ParksTBD
Total$2,000,000
  1. Where will the money go?
    • No funds will be used to offset the overhead of the Lakeside Trail Society. The Lakeside Trail Society is a volunteer community group that is self-funding its overhead costs.
    • We will use your funds for the amenities that will really make the basic trail a great trail. Those amenities are the interpretive signs describing the history of the area, the fish habitat, cultural connections to First Nations and early days at Cultus Lake. In addition there will be rest areas along the way with benches, kilometer markings, a fitness circuit and wayfinding signage.
    • In the initial stages of trail construction, we may find it necessary to borrow from the amenities fund to facilitate portions of the construction of the trail. The hardest part of any big undertaking is getting started and that is certainly the case here. We need to get shovels in the ground and build the first phase of the trail in order to get those on the fence to really get behind our efforts. Phase I includes a portion of trail within BC Parks that will need upgrading to our standard and that will be paid for by a partnership between FVRD and the Lakeside Trail Society – aka – your donations. Sometimes the major funders, both corporate and government, stall as they get organized and when that is the case we will need to fund construction ourselves to keep the momentum going.
    • We will reimburse the amenities fund for costs that have been used for construction.
    • This is a complex, long term project. Our primary short to medium term goal is to get the trail finished, then we can add amenities that will make the trail an extraordinary experience.
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