Fifteen years of planning, five signs still not installed along bike path

In November, the Bulletin published an article indicating Gatineau would be installing five signs along the Sentier des Voyageurs bike path before June 2017. The signs were to indicate that Old Aylmer is nearby, just off the bike path. At the time of publication, Gatineau said they had hired a Montreal design firm, ARIUM, as well as a Montreal research and writing firm to handle the content of the five signs.

While the designs are approved, a Gatineau spokesperson told the Bulletin June 19, the tender for the construction of the signs have yet be called. “A call for tenders to make the signs should be launched in the coming weeks,” Gatineau told the Bulletin. “So we should have the contract awarded by the end of the summer. Following that, 6 to 8 weeks are needed to make them, with another few weeks allotted for installing the signs.”

Several people and organizations have, over the last fifteen years, proposed such signs as the merchants on rue Principale notice the thousands of cyclists who use the bike path don’t necessarily come to Old Aylmer to enjoy the services there. With two functioning drinking fountains along the trail, and one restaurant (the Resto-Bar Marina), bike path users would benefit from knowing where to freshen up. With an estimated 8,000 cyclists rolling through the wooded area near Old Aylmer at peak times, even a small percentage of this traffic coming up to use the services on rue Principale would mean significant increases in business for merchants.