Another $85,000 of city funds will be spent on fixing up Whitehorse's trail system this year.

Much of the work will be focused on the Mount McIntyre and Hillcrest areas.

In a presentation to city council and senior management Wednesday afternoon, city projects co-ordinator Doug Hnatiuk and consultant Jane Koepke outlined the work to be done to trails once the weather warms up.

Earlier, they showcased the efforts made last year to fix up areas used by recreationalists on the east side of the Yukon River.

"It's kind of a neat thing emerging,” Hnatiuk said as he spoke of partnerships that have come out of implementing the 2007 trail plan with a number of people who helped the city create trails.

Partnerships have also come out of the multi-year project with groups like Katimavik, Canada World Youth and user groups volunteering last year on the initiative.

The city adopted the trail plan, which identified its 750 kilometres of trails, in 2007.

Work then began on implementing the recommendations out of the document, with about $85,000 budgeted for the project each year.

In 2010, the city found itself with a full $125,000 extra after the federal government agreed to match the city's cash and the National Trail Coalition put in $40,000.

"We were able to make a significant impact,” Hnatiuk said.

The work of the three-person crew – including two fully trained trail builders and an apprentice – and numerous volunteers put the project years ahead of where it would be otherwise, he added.

Last summer, along the east side of the Yukon River in Riverdale and up at Mount McIntyre, the crews built a free-ride park, reconstructed bridges, rerouted eight trails, built 10 kilometres of trail connectors and installed 10 kiosks, 50 trailhead posts and signs, 160 directional posts and did a GPS inventory of the area.

Many of the trails have been in place for years without city interference. In an interview following Wednesday's meeting, Hnatiuk said efforts such as rerouting are aimed at protecting environmentally sensitive areas.

In many cases, trails running through such sites are being redirected elsewhere. In other cases, the work is aimed at making the trails easier to climb or warning hikers of the difficulty level.

"It's about making the trail network more sustainable and user-friendly,” Hnatiuk said.

Throughout their presentation, Koepke showed off the before and after shots of various trails the crews worked on over 2010.

Kiosks placed at the start of major trail networks such as Miles Canyon have been added to show people the different paths available and features such as steep escarpment, while many trails have an individual sign at the beginning of that hike.

"We're making sure people aren't getting lost,” Koepke said.

She's heard from a number of people who aren't taking a map out nearly as often as they once were when walking the trails, she added.

Parks and recreation manager Linda Rapp said she too has spoken to many who use the Riverdale trails and have started exploring some unfamiliar paths thanks to the trailhead signs.

"Word is spreading,” Rapp said.

Along with the new signs on many trails are the familiar years-old directional guides around places like Chadburn Lake.

As Koepke said, where possible, officials didn't want to mess around with proper signs and trails residents have been using for years and are familiar with.

"We tried to respect tradition as much as possible,” she noted.

While it's not expected the city will get the same additional funding from outside sources that it did last year, Hnatiuk said the $85,000 set aside in the capital budget for trail work in 2011 will allow the city to hire a crew of two and plans are already in place to involve groups like Katimavik again.

This summer, the city will again focus on the Mount McIntyre area and working with the Hillcrest community.

With the Western Canadian Orienteering Championships slated to be hosted in Hillcrest this summer, Hnatiuk said the city would likely work on planning for the area over the summer until after the championships are finished.

The physical work will likely then get underway in the fall.

"We don't want conflict,” he said.

It's also expected this summer's work will also include the paving of a main trail in Crestview.

Beyond the work of fixing up the trails, officials are also looking at how to handle the economic spinoffs that are starting to come from the city's trail system with businesses like Boreale Mountain Biking making use of city trails for touring.

As Rapp noted, the city's intent is to make sure the general public has access to public space at the same time as realizing the trails are providing opportunities to local businesses.

It's a matter of finding a way to ensure public space isn't being given up in the interests of others and ensuring potential conflicts are dealt with.

As an example, she pointed to the annual Run For Mom overlapping with other events that might be hosted by another group at the same time.

Work to ensure such issues are managed properly is only in its initial stages, but it's something the city is looking at, Hnatiuk said.