More Problems TQ83

[iceman]

Not good.

35 km of Trans-Québec trail through Saguenay under threat 

|November 13, 2023

Tourists who like to finish their snowmobiling day at the hotel will no longer be able to go there this winter if the situation is not resolved.

At the rate things are going, the snowmobile trail that crosses the city of Saguenay from La Baie to Jonquière, the Trans-Québec 83, will remain closed this winter. Problems are piling up for volunteers from the Club de motoneigistes du Saguenay, and solutions are not coming quickly enough.

"It's not complicated: the 35 kilometres of the Trans-Québec trail will remain closed. We'll be able to ride the local trails, but tourists arriving from Quebec City and Charlevoix won't be able to get to the city, the restaurants and the hotels," points out club president Jocelyn Charest on the trail map.

The map is posted on the wall of the club's offices. The trail in blue, Trans-Québec 83, will remain closed this winter if the problems are not resolved quickly.

Flanked by his vice-president, Éric Lavoie, Lavoie adds that they have problems with rights of way on private land, inaccessible bridges and safety. And for the time being, nothing seems to be resolved in the short term.

"It's one obstacle after another. We're doing volunteer work. We like going out to install signage and repair bridges. We know we're going to have a few problems to deal with, but that's not it any more. There's nothing that can be solved.

The need for a permanent committee

The two volunteers deplore the lack of vision on the part of municipal authorities for the development of this tourism industry, which generates over $110 million in spinoffs for the region.

"What we mean by that is that when it comes to developing the town, they never look at where the trails go. Every year, we end up with a new business on a street corner and new residences at the end of a neighbourhood blocking our way. You can't always get around it, and often you do the work and have to do it all over again two years later. We're happy to help them get snowmobilers down to the hotels, but we're starting to get fed up and we don't get any royalties," explains Jocelyn Charest.

Here's a concrete example. The new branch of the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec on boulevard Mellon in Jonquière is right next to the entrance to the trail leading to the club's premises. "The entrance is so close to the edge of our trail that it's becoming dangerous," says Éric Lavoie, who brings up the idea of a permanent snowmobile committee.

"We've been asking for it for two years. We want to talk to the town and bring hoteliers and shopkeepers together to have a long-term vision.

While there is one person dedicated to snowmobiling issues within the municipal administration, the two men feel that the implementation of a long-term plan requires political will. They asked to meet the presidents of the three boroughs a few weeks ago, but their request went unheeded.

"There's the OHV (off-road vehicle) committee and Serge Gaudreault is the chairman. He listens to us, but he's caught between a rock and a hard place," sighs Mr Charest.

 

The Club de motoneigistes du Saguenay has 64 volunteers and around 20 groomer drivers. It is responsible for maintaining 500 kilometres of trails. Last year, the organisation had 3,200 permanent members and around 500 snowmobilers paid for a daily or weekly pass

Edited November 14, 2023 by iceman

[wng-2]

Sad, but pretty typical in the world we live in today. I am glad I enjoyed a few 5000-7000 mile seasons a quarter century ago, when I was a younger man.

[iceman]

Resolved for this year

Volunteers will be able to maintain the main trail through the City of Saguenay.

Discussions have intensified over the last two weeks, so that the difficulties that were jeopardising the opening of the snowmobile trail that runs from La Baie to Jonquière, the Trans-Québec 83, have been resolved and it will now be accessible.

[Shore1066]

I would like to have the reason for a  possible closure or a closure be let known in detail . Maybe us riders are doing something and not knowing it. As in if one rider cuts a corner that they shouldn't  it's a fact others will follow and now there's a problem.  Land owners don't just say no more passage,  I would think they would complain to someone.  With the internet it seems that it wouldn't be that hard to notify the Quebec Riders that there's problem brewing.  Really a small group but we all know people that ride in Quebec and who don't read this site.  I think we, as in Quebec Riders,  atleast should offer some ideas to help fixing this problem.  

  These are mine and only my thoughts about this problem. Be safe all.

[nyskidooerinnewhampshire]

On 11/24/2023 at 8:04 PM, Shore1066 said:

I would like to have the reason for a  possible closure or a closure be let known in detail . Maybe us riders are doing something and not knowing it. As in if one rider cuts a corner that they shouldn't  it's a fact others will follow and now there's a problem.  Land owners don't just say no more passage,  I would think they would complain to someone.  With the internet it seems that it wouldn't be that hard to notify the Quebec Riders that there's problem brewing.  Really a small group but we all know people that ride in Quebec and who don't read this site.  I think we, as in Quebec Riders,  atleast should offer some ideas to help fixing this problem.  

  These are mine and only my thoughts about this problem. Be safe all.

https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/2029724/motoneigistes-saguenay-passage?fbclid=IwAR26Cjnp24YkeSNle4T_7vTpX5PMvfnXkc5gTqrwKOUasCPSmdvtYfK5qiU

[nyskidooerinnewhampshire]

3 minutes ago, nyskidooerinnewhampshire said:

https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/2029724/motoneigistes-saguenay-passage?fbclid=IwAR26Cjnp24YkeSNle4T_7vTpX5PMvfnXkc5gTqrwKOUasCPSmdvtYfK5qiU

Catherine Paradis

Posted November 24 at 11:19 a.m. EST

The Trans-Québec 83 trail may open in the urban sector of Saguenay.

The Saguenay Snowmobile Club has reached an agreement on rights of way with a farmer from La Baie and with Rio Tinto who agrees to renovate a bridge it owns on the route.

Finally, a solution was found to bypass the site of the new service point of the SAAQ in the Arvida sector.

Snowmobilers from outside will therefore be able to go to the various hotels in the city.

It's certain that, at the moment, it's like plasters . [...] because sometimes they sell land where we pass, but there, it was too late because it was sold , explained the president of the Club des motoneigistes du Saguenay, Jocelyn Charest, in an interview with the show It’s never the same .

We need a long-term solution so that we stop investing for nothing by changing the paths. We all have to walk in the same direction to have permanent paths for the City of Saguenay.

A quote fromJocelyn Charest, president of the Saguenay Snowmobile Club

He now wants a permanent solution for the future.

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The city is in the process of setting up the committee with their own members, and on our board of directors, we passed a resolution so that I could sit on the committee , he mentioned.

The City of Saguenay's off-road vehicle committee currently has only one member: municipal councilor Serge Gaudreault.

He has been campaigning for several months to consolidate the committee which will soon bring together elected officials from the three boroughs, representatives of all off-road vehicle clubs as well as Promotion Saguenay staff.

The goal of the committee is to have permanent, long-term trails. 5 to 10 year contracts with farmers. If land ever sells, we need to know about it in order to negotiate access quickly , maintains Serge Gaudreault.

Based on an interview with Frédéric Tremblay

Catherine Paradis (View profile)Catherine Paradis