Protesters walk new highway route

A group of residents in Bonshaw, west of Charlottetown, is inviting people to hike through the woods where the province plans to reroute parts of the Trans-Canada Highway.

The group hopes the hike will encourage people to protest the project. On Sunday nearly 50 people laced up their hiking boots to join a walk they organized.

"I wanted to take a look at the location for the road," said Meagan Harris, one of the hikers.

"I have not actually been into these woods. There is some mature hemlock, some mature sugar maple tree stands, and that's the part that I haven't seen yet."

The provincial government's original plan was to reroute the highway through Strathgartney Provincial Park, but that idea was ditched after protests. Now the province plans to build on the other side of the current highway.

Art Ortenberger, one of the local residents who helped organize the hike, believes a better option would be smoothing the unsafe corners of the existing highway, rather than doing a major rerouting.

"It's not that new roads are necessarily bad," said Ortenberger.

"Certainly they're not, but we have to look at the alternatives a little more clearly."

Ortenburger is hoping once people see the private woodlots for themselves, they'll sign the petition against rerouting the highway through the area.

"It's a way of life for the people that live here," he said.

"When we talk about saving woodlands, saving family farms, things like that, we're talking about letting people go on and live their lives as they have been and as they'd like to continue to do so."

The province says it has made up its mind on the $16-million project. It will share the cost evenly with the federal government through the Atlantic Gateway and Trade Corridor Fund.

The group is holding another walk Monday at 11 a.m., and has invited local MLAs and the environment minister to join in.

The province is holding a meeting Wednesday to discuss the new plans.