'Definitely an economic impact': Residents want to draw more mountain bikers to North Cowichan
'Definitely an economic impact': Residents want to draw more mountain bikers to North Cowichan
A town on southern Vancouver Island is looking to attract more mountain bikers to its doorstep.
Community members in Crofton, B.C., are making a concentrated effort to bring cyclists to the area, which could bring economic gains to the community.
"I do believe that we're an opportunity just waiting to be found," said resident Dan Robin.
"I see them riding even on the seawalk here," he said. "They ride here into town, even Chemainus is only a 25 to 30 minute bicycle ride [away], so there's lots of opportunity for riding in the area."
He and Rick Martinson with the Cowichan Trail Stewardship Society say the municipality of North Cowichan already has ideas for nearby Mount Richards.
The pair point to a 2017 municipal masterplan that highlights hiking and equestrian use on the mountain, but not mountain biking.
"Five years ago it may not have been a big issue, now it is," said Martison.
He says that nearby mountains have become crowded with mountain bikers, and that expanding trails onto Mount Richards would benefit both riders by easing trail traffic, and the local economy.
Martinson points to the nearby town of Cumberland as an example of what Crofton could bring in with mountain biking.
He says a recent economic impact study in Cumberland shows that cyclists are happy to spend money at small communities when they come for a bike trip.
"They said each visiting mountain biker drops more than $80 a day in town," he said. "Ones that stay overnight, it's more like $100 a day, so there's definitely an economic impact."
Josh Lichti, who works at Dodge City Cycles in Cumberland, says the community has become a national biking hotspot.
"We're the fourth most visited biking community now in the country, so tons of people are coming from all over the country just to ride the trails in Cumberland," he said.
Martin Ready owns a guide company that welcomes international visitors to ride in Cumberland and across the island.
He says the industry has peripheral benefits that are noticeable, with some people moving to the island "to be close to the trail network."
Some local businesses are also thriving because of the interest.
"There's a company that's building wheels here and a company building bikes," said Ready.
In Crofton, Robin says there are 300 volunteers who are prepared to build more trails in the area to attract visitors.
"If there were better trails here it would attract more people, and being that it’s right adjacent to Maple Mountain, it’s kind of a slam-dunk for people to be able to ride two mountains in the same day," he said.
A presentation was made to North Cowichan council on Wednesday night to get the wheels turning on bringing more tourists to the area.
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
A newly released survey finds nearly all Canadian adults had antibodies against COVID-19 for about half of 2022, with most acquiring them through a previous infection.
Gwyneth Paltrow's highly publicized ski collision trial is shining a spotlight on the unspoken rules that govern behaviour on the slopes. Testimony over the last six days has repeatedly touched on skier's etiquette -- especially sharing contact information after a collision, and ski turn radiuses -- in what experts have said is the most high-profile ski collision trial in recent history.
Another American community is reeling after a shooter killed three 9-year-olds and three adults at a private Christian elementary school in Nashville. These are the three children and three adults whose lives were taken by the shooter.
Nashville police have released security camera footage of a suspected shooter entering the private Christian elementary school. The shooting claimed the lives of three children, all aged nine, and three adults.
The mother of a five-year-old girl said her daughter was allegedly bullied so badly she was left with a partially amputated finger from an incident in the washroom.
A Quebec provincial police officer was fatally stabbed Monday night while performing an arrest in Louiseville, west of Trois-Rivieres, Que. The Surete du Quebec (SQ) has confirmed the identity of the officer, Sgt. Maureen Breau, who had been on the force for over 20 years. She was assigned to the post of the MRC de Maskinonge. Another officer was injured during the incident, but their life is not in danger.
A B.C. man has been found not guilty of sexually assaulting his ex-girlfriend's daughter nearly a decade ago, when the girl would have been just eight years old.
A small memorial has been set up outside a Starbucks in downtown Vancouver where a 37-year-old man was fatally stabbed in front of his wife and daughter Sunday.
Alberta's police watchdog has released more information about an incident at a Red Deer Walmart in which a man who had been reported missing in Calgary was shot by police.
Family and friends of two police officers who were shot and killed while responding to a family dispute gathered in downtown Edmonton Monday to say goodbye to their loved ones.
The 22-year-old accused of fatally stabbing a teenager at a Toronto subway station Saturday night has been wanted in Newfoundland for almost two years, CTV News Toronto has learned.
The mother of a five-year-old girl said her daughter was allegedly bullied so badly she was left with a partially amputated finger from an incident in the washroom.
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
Rima Rifai thought her furnace had exploded Monday when the house across the street burst into a ball of fire, sending 10 people to hospital with serious injuries.
A high-tech farm near Cochrane, west of Calgary, is producing thousands of heads of lettuce, and other vegetables every week, even in the darkest and coldest days of winter.
Montreal police say they have identified two more victims found in the rubble of a fire in Old Montreal 12 days ago. Charlie Lacroix and Walid Belkahla, both 18, are the sixth and seventh victims of the fire.
A Quebec provincial police officer was fatally stabbed Monday night while performing an arrest in Louiseville, west of Trois-Rivieres, Que. The Surete du Quebec (SQ) has confirmed the identity of the officer, Sgt. Maureen Breau, who had been on the force for over 20 years. She was assigned to the post of the MRC de Maskinonge. Another officer was injured during the incident, but their life is not in danger.
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
Almost three years after a man disguised as a Mountie started murdering people in Portapique, N.S., on the night of April 18, 2020, the senior RCMP officers and staff involved in the tragic case have all either retired or moved into new jobs.
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
New Brunswickers suffering from a mystery neurological disorder are calling for an investigation into potential environmental causes of the health problems they've been living with for more than two years.
Regina Mayor Sandra Masters said the city will more than likely continue to follow Health Canada guidelines when it comes to asbestos cement pipes (ACP) that carry drinking water to residents’ homes.
The Saskatchewan government is hoping to bolster critical mineral exploration after announcing a strategy Monday that aims to attract investment and double production by 2030.
Provincial police say a group of teenagers caused a train to make an emergency stop because they were lying on the tracks as the train approached in New Tecumseth.
The driver of a pickup truck, a 47-year-old woman, has died after a crash with a tanker on MR55 in the Greater Sudbury community of Lively on Tuesday morning, police say.
Nashville police have released security camera footage of a suspected shooter entering the private Christian elementary school. The shooting claimed the lives of three children, all aged nine, and three adults.
The mother of a five-year-old girl said her daughter was allegedly bullied so badly she was left with a partially amputated finger from an incident in the washroom.
