The beauty of this project is that implementation has been divided into many small affordable increments, with many participating partners. Small rural communities play their role and celebrate their community ownership and pride as well as large urban municipalities. Good results are achieved quickly, and stimulate enthusiasm for further initiatives.
A wide variety of projects have been carried out; not just trail construction, but erosion and sediment control, wildlife preservation, habitat restoration, gardens, park creation and enhancement, children's playgrounds, boat launch facilities, docks, jetties, boardwalks, bridges; even community museums and open-air concert facilities.
The tasks of the Trust in the building of the Trail have been to express the overall vision of the project; work out Trail alignments and priorities with the local municipalities; provide Trail standards, guidelines and signage; negotiate with private stakeholders as necessary; and assist in the assembling of partnerships. Municipalities and conservation authorities have undertaken the responsibility for construction, operation and maintenance.
All the problems have been encountered that might be expected in building a project with literally dozens of partners and hundreds of landowners extending over hundreds of kilometres through 50 local jurisdictions. They include technical difficulties (e.g. engineering and design issues), financial problems, interjurisdictional differences, objections from adjoining landowners and breakdowns in communications.
The problems have been overcome by employing the following techniques; a strong focus on the vision of the project; maintenance of overall public and political support; sensitivity for local conditions and jurisdictions; a willingness to be flexible and adaptable; maintenance of an open and inclusive process (roundtables; workgroups; workshops etc.); and patience.
Coordination has been achieved by means of a loosely structured and informal "steering committee" - a roundtable - with close to 70 members from all levels of government, community groups and businesses, meeting bi-monthly.
The Trail has been built at a cost of some $40 million to date. About thirty percent of the funding has been provided by the Province, with the rest contributed by local communities, service clubs and the private sector in a series of public-private partnerships.
Some examples of Trail partnerships:
(a) General Motors Canada built its headquarters in the middle of a waterfront marsh, but provided land for a wildlife reserve and supported wetland preservation.
A community group (The Friends of Second Marsh), the City of Oshawa and the Trust assembled 40 local businesses and other community groups, whose
