NPT - Painter Trail Traditional Cache

This cache has been archived.

The A-Team: This cache has been muggled in a few ways over time, and the nearby construction is slowly approaching, so I think it’s time to go. The remains have been removed.

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Hidden : 9/18/2016
Difficulty:
1 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size: micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:

The New Parks and Trails (NPT) series highlights the new parks and trails of southern Vancouver Island. These recreational resources provide access to areas of our communities that were previously-inaccessible or breathe new life into former jewels so new generations can experience and enjoy them.

The closest access point to the cache is from the intersection of Painter Road and Dressler Road, but you can also access the trail from the other end near Royal Bay Secondary School.

In 1909, a gravel pit called Producer's Pit began operating in Colwood. At the time, the pit was one of the largest industrial sites and biggest employers in the region. Over the course of the next century, countless loads of gravel were quarried and routinely shipped across southern Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland, and Washington State.

In 1996, developers proposed a controversial 2800-home residential development on the site of the Producer's Pit. The pit was nearing the end of its useful life and offered a large area of cleared land available to be redeveloped, but local residents were concerned about the impact this development would have on the surrounding neighbourhoods. These concerns were gradually dealt with and construction began in the back part of the gravel pit in 2003. Homes were built in a few phases around the perimeter of the pit until 2007, when the demand for housing dropped off and the project was effectively halted. Despite the halt, the Producer's Pit followed through with their prior plans and permanently shut down in 2007 after providing gravel to the region for nearly a century.

After lying dormant for several years, being sold to a new developer, and redesigned to a 2300-home plan, the project restarted in 2013 with the first new feature being the construction of Royal Bay Secondary School, which welcomed its first students in September 2015. As part of plans to improve connectivity between the new school and existing neighbourhoods, a trail connecting Ryder Hesjedal Way to Painter Road was proposed in 2015. Design work got underway in early 2016 and construction occurred throughout the summer, utilizing two grade 11 students from Royal Bay Secondary School as part of a work experience program. The 650-metre trail was completed in September 2016.

The Painter Trail has been designed to be accessible so it can be used by people of all ages and levels of mobility. The winding section at the northeast end near Painter Road is paved and utilizes switchbacks to give it a grade of 6%, making it easier for wheelchairs to negotiate the slope. From the bottom of the slope, it extends across the floor of the former gravel pit as a wide gravel trail lined by cedar split-rail fences and ends at Ryder Hesjedal Way near Royal Bay Secondary School. When built, the trail crossed an otherwise undeveloped area, but over time homes and other amenities will pop up on either side and the trail will become a primary thoroughfare for local residents.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Orgjrra hccre 5 naq 6, pbhagvat sebz gbc

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)


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