ELORA – The Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) will be doing some tree maintenance along the Elora Cataract Trailway over the next six weeks and that will result in intermittent closures of sections of the trail.
The first closure, between Gartshore Street in Fergus and Belwood Lake will occur between Dec. 2 and 17.
Updated closures will be posted in the Service Disruptions section of the GRCA website at www.grandriver.ca.
Trail closure signs will be posted on sections of the trail where the work will be occurring, and access will not be permitted.
Members of the public are asked to avoid the area on weekdays between 7:30am and 4:30pm while the work is underway and to obey all posted signage so that crews may complete the work safely.
The maintenance work will include the removal of approximately 1,500 hazard trees along the trail.
“Most of the trees are small diameter, dead or dying ash species which have been affected by emerald ash borer and pose a risk to the public,” states a GRCA press release.
“Left unmanaged, these hazard trees have the potential to fall, impacting trail users and infrastructure.”
In addition to hazard tree removal, clearance pruning will be undertaken to help improve the trail user experience and provide additional clearance for trail maintenance equipment.
Where possible, trees that are removed as part of this maintenance work will be chipped or left on the forest floor where they will form new habitat and enrich the soil in the area as they decay.
