Calgary Edmonton Trail Corridor 1873-present
 
Long before Springbrook, Mynarski Park or the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, the area was central to major transportation corridors. First, of course, was the Red Deer River, a few miles to the west.
 
Then, during the 1800's and earlier, there was the Wolf Trail (Bow River Trail, Old North Trail, Fort Benton Trail) that extended between Fort Benton in Montana to Fort Edmonton to the north used by aboriginals, fur traders and early settlers.
 
In this area, it ran just east of the river to Red Deer Crossing, one of the better fording points on the river where later Fort Normandeau was built, a ferry service established and a settlement developed. Around 1873, the Bow River Trail became the Calgary and Edmonton Trail (C & E Trail), the most dominant north-south route in Alberta. It became a major stage coach route upon the arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway in Calgary in 1883.
 
In 1890-91 when the Calgary and Edmonton Railway was built, the railway followed more or less the same general corridor as the C & E Trail with several adjustments in alignment to accommodate better grades. From Innisfail north to Red Deer, the railway ran a few miles east of the Trail.
 
During the 1890's, an additional road was built to follow the railroad and the towns the railway built or went through. This new road eventually became Highway 1 in the 1930's and renamed Highway 2 when the Trans Canada Highway was being built as an east-west highway in the 50's. It became Highway 2A when the four lane Highway 2 was built in the late 1960's. Meanwhile, several portions of the C & E Trail were maintained in the areas where it was abandoned in favour of the new route. Highway 2 between Calgary and Edmonton is now the Queen Elizabeth II Highway, part of the Canamex Highway Trade Corridor.
 
In the present day, there is much interest in creating walking, biking or other types of trails in the vicinity using the river, C & E Trail, and Highway 2A corridors. The Trans Canada Trail from Red Deer to Olds and beyond is planned to go past Springbrook. The preferred route has been determined to be the Highway 2A corridor between the highway and the railway partly due to its directness, partly due to the resistence of land owners adjacent to other identified routes including the C & E Trail, and partly due to the desire to hook up with the trail systems in Red Deer including those in Waskasoo Park which are already part of the Trans Canada Trail. Other options have included the Waskasoo Creek corridor, the Red Deer River corridor, the abandoned Alberta Central Railway corridor and some country road allowances. The challenge now is that Alberta Transportation is not supportive of trails within the highway corridors, although they have approved the section between Penhold and Springbrook.
 

 

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