Rotary Centennial Trail (photo by Charles Lefebvre)

By Charles Lefebvre

New trail

Rotary Centennial Trail connects Medicine Hat, Desert Blume

Jul 31, 2019 | 5:31 PM

DESERT BLUME, AB — A new trail connecting Cypress County and Medicine Hat has already seen use from the community.

The Rotary Centennial Trail, a partnership between Cypress County, the City of Medicine Hat, and the Medicine Hat Rotary Club, was paved last week. The 2.4 kilometre trail runs on South Boundary Road, from Southridge Drive in Medicine Hat to the edge of Desert Blume.

“It’s beneficial because obviously the benefits that both communities and both municipalities will see a value in using it for recreation and those purposes, “ said Jeffrey Dowling, director of municipal services with Cypress County. “It connects the two and makes the region much smaller, and it means the boundaries are not that important.”

Dowling adds the addition of the trail, the first one to connect the county and the city, will also improve safety in the area.

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“It provides pedestrians, bike traffic, roller bladers, skateboarders an opportunity to, like I said, use the trail, use it in a safe manner so that they are off of the driving surface where the traffic is, so definitely a benefit in that regard,” he said.

The construction cost was $400,000, with the Medicine Hat Rotary Club funding half of the cost.

Benches and signs still need to be installed on the trail, which Dowling says will be completed by the fall.