Huron County hosted an open house yesterday (Saturday) afternoon at the Blyth Arena to explain and provide information about the Goderich to Guelph Rail Trail.
County Tourism Coordinator Cindy Fisher says one of the advantages of an open house is that people either for or against the trail can have a one on one discussion that hopefully results in both parties understanding the other's position.
Fisher adds that's not always the case in a public meeting with a speaker at the front of the room talking to the audience.
"The nice thing about this open house format is that it provides a question and answer and understanding somebody's position better," she says. "In a public meeting format with one person at the front and the audience there's not always the opportunity to understand why they're saying what they're saying," says Fisher.
She hopes the open house will help them understand the concerns of the people who are opposed to the trail as well as inform them about where their support is coming from.
Margaret Vincent attended the open house in her role as member service representative for the Huron and Perth Federation of Agriculture.
"I'm optimistic that we will have a better understanding of some of the concerns and where our supporters are located," she says. "We'll be providing this information to G2G Inc., which has the interim lease with the province on the sections of the rail trail that aren't already leased."
She explains the federation's position is they cannot support the trail until the concerns of landowners along the trail have been addressed.
Fisher points out that rail trails similar to the Goderich to Guelph Trail have been very successful in other parts of Ontario and across Canada, so she's optimistic that the G2G Trail can be just as successful.