Trail Changes 93 near Valinouet

[iceman]

The Trans-Québec 93 snowmobile trail will no longer pass through the Valinouët site in Saint-David-de-Falardeau. A big change that will significantly reduce traffic at the ski center. “It had become the Wild West with the alpine center and all the chalets. And before an accident happens, we thought about everyone's safety," explains the president of the Club de motoneigistes Caribou-Conscrits, Julien Tremblay.

He points out that the path has been diverted by about a kilometer. “It also changes the crossing of Chemin Lévesque which was not safe in a curve. It happened a few times a season that we were close to an accident and when it snowed, it accumulated a lot. We had to go and clear the snow very often,” he continues. Julien Tremblay assures that a passage will be built between the main trail and the site so that snowmobilers can go to restaurants, the convenience store and the gas station. But the discussions hang, we are told, between the companies in the sector and the association of snowmobilers. " It's simple. It would cost about $18,000 to make a nice pass. I don't think it's up to the club to pay that bill. It is also up to the restaurateurs and merchants who will benefit from it, ”answers Mr. Tremblay frankly. The Trans-Québec will therefore pass further south, via the Hydro-Québec power line. The Caribou-Conscrits club has obtained authorization from the Ministries of Transport and Natural Resources to do so.

We also think we are better able to control those who come to snowmobile off-trail and who do not pay the dues to use the roads to get there. It will be easier to check access rights, ”believes the president of the association. It's not just this sector that has people talking a few weeks before the start of the season. Snowmobilers have lost their right of way at Sainte-Rose-du-Nord, for trail 328. With the help of the MRC du Fjord-du-Saguenay, they managed to find a detour, but they are waiting to receive adequate funding before developing it properly. “It will cost us between $50 and $80,000 in rights of way this year, specifies the president. With the price of fuel which is $1 per liter more than last winter, the bill will rise quickly. » A quick calculation shows that the use and repairs of machinery cost approximately $350,000 per season. The conversation turns to the funding of snowmobile groups. The president of the Caribou-Conscrit club believes that it will have to be reviewed, among other things, because the Valin mountains are an increasingly popular destination for tourists. “We sell 3,900 annual cards and 4,200 daily passes. Except that the gang of friends who come from Repentigny and who arrive here, they don't give us anything because they paid for their card in their club. So the federation has 113,000 members who can come here, do whatever they want and leave. We now have far too many people on our trails for our real capacity, ”he laments. He adds that more than half of his annual budget is donated to the Fédération des clubs de motoneigistes du Québec. “We have the same remuneration as clubs in southern Quebec who have 100 km to maintain for five weeks. Here, we have 800 km and a longer season. » He would also like support from the tourism industry, both moral and financial.

[dooright]

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https://www.tvanouvelles.ca/2022/11/07/de-nouveaux-frais-pour-les-motoneigistes?fbclid=IwAR23WHgbX1XmJvxjBUx6sR2L9_Szd0fYg-FQiO343OsHC0yQU-8MsLs70HI