After a resolution was passed by City Council in February of this year to allow the Finn Hill Mountain Bike Trail Project to move forward, the Sault Cycling Club - in partnership with the City of Sault Ste. Marie - decided to spearhead the project of constructing a 3-kilometre mountain bike trail for the summer.
The trail, which will be suitable for all skill levels, is expected to start at Finn Hill and end near Northern Avenue along the west side of the Hub Trail.
So far, with the help of the community and local sponsors, the project has received $43,860 in fundraising in just over a month, a news release issued by the Sault Cycling Club stated.
Raising this amount means the club has secured a spot on the building schedule with professional trail builders, Sentiers Boreals, and the tentative start date for construction will be early Sept. of this year, the release stated.
The fundraising goal for the project is $150,000, with a few months to get there.
“We’re very happy with where we’re at. The community support has been refreshing. We weren’t expecting to raise this much this quickly,” said Cindy Pruce, communications director at Sault Cycling Club. “It's so great to see the community coming together to make this project happen.”
“I think people of all ages and skill levels are going to love the trail. It’s going to bring a lot of young families together,” she said. “Once the community sees what we are able to achieve, bringing safe, accessible mountain biking to the urban core, we know there will be a demand for us to build more across the city.”
The Sault Cycling Club would like to thank everyone who has supported the project so far. The not-for-profit corporation is grateful for the strong support for cycling infrastructure in the city that helps their long-term vision to make Sault Ste. Marie a Trail Town with a city-wide interconnecting trail system, she added.