Kootenay communities receive active transportation grant

The Regional District of Kootenay Boundary, Rossland, Cranbrook, Kimberley, and Invermere will each receive provincial grants for active transportation projects.

The Active Transportation Infrastructure Grants will be used for multi-use pathways, protected bike lanes, pedestrian bridges, and safety improvements.

“With this funding, we’re helping communities across B.C. build a more sustainable future,” said Mike Farnworth, Minister of Transportation and Transit.

“By connecting communities with dedicated active transportation infrastructure, we’re encouraging people to cycle, walk or roll, which is good for our health and lessens our reliance on passenger vehicles.”

The Regional District of Kootenay Boundary, Rossland, Cranbrook, Kimberley, and Invermere have six of the 53 active transportation infrastructure projects set to receive grants from the B.C. government.

“The grants will improve connections to employment, school, transit and recreational centres throughout the province,” said the B.C. government.

“The Active Transportation Infrastructure Grants program funds Indigenous, local and regional governments with cost-sharing investments of up to $500,000 for infrastructure projects and as much as $50,000 in funding to develop active transportation network plans. These projects make it safer and more efficient for people to use active transportation in their communities.”

Details on the local projects set to receive provincial funds can be found below:

• Cranbrook
  • McPhee Road corridor improvements
    • Construction of a multi-use pathway along McPhee Road from Theatre Road to Industrial Road F.
• Invermere
  • 10th Street end-of-trip facility
    • A new facility at 10th Street and 8th Avenue in downtown Invermere involving a washroom building, e-bike charging station, walking trail network signage, and an end-of-trip bike service facility, which will include a repair station, pump, wash station and installation kit.
  • Tarte Street trail
    • Constructing about 325 metres of multi-use path connecting existing active-transportation facilities.
• Kimberley
  • Marsden Street active-transportation project
    • Constructing about 191 metres of sidewalk connecting the city’s skate park, bike park and other amenities.
• Regional District of Kootenay Boundary
  • Christina Creek active transportation bridge, $500,000
    • Building a new bridge across Christina Creek, providing a safer and more direct route for pedestrians and cyclists, and diverting users away from the highway.
• Rossland
  • Centennial Trail improvements, $500,00
    • Safety and accessibility improvements on the Centennial Trail multi-use pathway that serves as an inter-community link from Red Mountain Resort, through Rossland and Warfield, to Trail.
• Castlegar
  • Active Transport Network, $50,000

“People who choose active transportation will soon have safer options for getting around their communities,” says Steve Morissette, MLA for Kootenay-Monashee.

“I’m happy to see these improvements helping connect people by walking, cycling, or running more easily across the region.”

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