Trail improvements on the way for Three Blind Mice network in Penticton

PENTICTON – Trail upgrades are on the way for Penticton's Three Blind Mice trails network thanks to a winning proposal by the local cycling association.

Okanagan-Coquihalla MP Dan Albas announced $34,750 in funding for improvements to Penticton’s cycling trails network in a release from Western Economic Diversification Canada, Monday, July 27.

The grant goes to Penticton and Area Cycling Association after the group put together a competitive funding proposal that bested 4,000 other applicants for the Western Economic Diversification grant.

Penticton and Area Cycling Association President Laura Harp says her group managed to raise the $34,750 in matching funds needed to apply for the grant. She says the cycling association was one of only a handful of non-profit applicants for the grant money.

The funding comes from the Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program, a $150-million program for the funding of renovations, expansions and rehabilitations to infrastructure already built that provides community and cultural benefits to the public.

The $69,500 will be used to install signage, kiosks, fences and gates, trail upgrades, bridge replacements and an expanded parking lot for the trail network

Harp says the group is excited to receive the funding and will put the money to good use. Work has already begun on replacement of one of nine bridges slated for replacement and trail maps went to the printer this week.

“Our mandate has always been to enhance the pursuit of recreation and healthy living in the Penticton area. We will be using these funds to make the Three Blind Mice destination even better,” she says.

The cycling association signed an agreement in May to co-manage the trails, built on 330 city-owned acres and a portion of a 4,000-acre Crown-owned block, with Recreation Sites and Trails B.C. The long term agreement was needed in order for the group to successfully apply for the diversification grant.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Steve Arstad at sarstad@infonews.ca or call 250-488-3065. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.