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Tunnels of sugar maple, red maple, beech, and red oak, bordered by lupins, black-eyed Susans, daisies, and Queen Annes lace... Prince Edward Islands heritage roads are delightful pathways to the Islands rural past. These red clay, sun-dappled roads bordered by wildflowers and native shrubs twist along fields and through wooded hills. In their day, they were commonly travelled roads between communities, connecting farms to sawmills and furniture factories. Having escaped asphalt paving, these clay lanes and their surrounding vegetation are now protected from alteration. Island wildlife also enjoy these roads which serve as corridors for foxes, squirrels, and snowshoe hares and as nesting areas for song birds. The Islands heritage roads constitute a cultural and natural heritage unto themselves. In Prince Edward
Island, scenic heritage designation of roads became
possible in 1987. Under the Planning Act regulations,
individuals are prohibited from cutting or removing
trees, shrubbery or plant life or in any way altering the
landscape of a scenic heritage road without written
permission from the minister responsible for the
environment. There are sixteen heritage roads across the
Island: three in Prince County, nine in Queens County,
and four in Kings County.
The John Joe Road, also known as the
Hackney Road, travels 2 kilometres from Route 142 (the
Kelly Road) to Route 136, near Mill River Resort in
western Prince County. With grain fields and potato
fields alternating with woodland, travellers along the
road journey through a representative Island rural
landscape. A past resident of the road, John Joe
Gallants name has long been associated with this
lane. A Mr. Hackney, the roads other namesake was
apparently involved in the roads construction in
19121914. Until Hackneys work, there was
little road to speak of, consisting only of a
cart track leading to a homestead in the wood. Near the
southern end of the road, vestiges of an old stagecoach
road can be found leading from Kelly Road toward
Alberton. National Park
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