Cycle 16, a bike advocacy group in the Bulkley Valley of BC has been awarded a provincial grant to fund the construction of their Connector Trail along Highway 16.
Typically in British Columbia, Active Transportation projects have been run by grassroots, municipal, or organizations seeking to build trails for biking and hiking in their communities. This year, however, the Ministry of Transportation has begun taking over projects to build people-powered transportation in an effort to meet climate goals for the CleanBC campaign.
The first of these Ministry-led projects is the Cycle 16 Connector Trail from Smithers to Telkwa (about 15 kms), which has now become the template for other projects like this in the province.
Since 2015, Cycle 16 has been fundraising for the eventual building of this trail, but Executive Director Alan Cormier told CICK News that though this project could only have been successful with a government partnership, “the awarded grant of $9.8 million was quite a shock”.