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Should the Town of Victoria buy property to turn into a trailhead? That’s one of the ideas being discussed by local staff. The concept involves a piece of KV Road, down at the end of the airport. It’s been worked on as a joint project, with Victoria Town Manager Rodney Newton coordinating with Kenbridge Town Manager Tony Matthews and Taylor King from Lunenburg County’s Department of Planning and Economic Development. 

The three recently had a conference call with Virginia’s Department of Conservation and Recreation to consider a grant application. The idea would be to buy the property and transform it into a trailhead for Rails-to-Trails. This would give the town a parking area which has access to the trail.

It would also give the town control of vegetation on the property, as well as the authority to be able to handle any tree issues that pop up. A rail trail, for those wondering, is a shared-use path, set up on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically put together after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed. On the other hand, in some areas, it may share the right of way with active railways. 

Now in this case, there’s a good reason for working with both Kenbridge and the county. Buying the land on KV Road would give Victoria residents a gateway. Matthews is working on the western end of the trail from Kenbridge, with the idea of possibly making a loop back towards Victoria. Between the two towns and county, the group of localities is submitting an application for an 80/20 grant. If approved, that would mean state or federal funding would cover 80% of the work, with the county and towns only on the hook for 20%.