A petition launched to preserve the Rennie’s River and Virginia River walking trails has garnered nearly 6,000 signatures.

Pete Soucy is a member of the Protecting Pedestrian Trails concerned citizens group, which was formed after the city approved a Bike Plan that included plans to turn the two river trails into a paved transportation network.

The group wants to see the river trails removed from the Bike Master Plan and argues that widening and paving the rugged and at times steep trails will be costly, create safety concerns and have an environmental impact.

Soucy says no money has been set aside in the budget to maintain paved trails once they’re done.

The city has agreed to further public consultation on the river trails as part of the Bike Master Plan.

Soucy says they’ve been told by some users who won’t feel safe if the river trails are developed.

He says not all pedestrian trails will be paved, so why not save the river trails described by many as “gems?”