Proponents of linking up the Cochrane area to the 28,000 kilometre Trans Canada Trail are optimistic a federal funding tool may just be the nudge their pet project needs to move it from dream to reality.
And though they’ve been at this for over 12 years, the clock is now ticking on that funding tool, to be used for the coast-to-coast-to-coast trail connecting Canada’s three oceans. The latest window for application for the grant closes Feb. 26. In applying for the financing, the Town of Cochrane, in conjunction with the Rotary Club of Cochrane, will identify the needs and standards of the Trail, including benefits and an operations model.
The challenge is now getting everything in order for the application by the end of the month.
Organizer Alex Baum, who has been working on this file for over a decade now, said the timing couldn’t be better for him and his fellow Cochrane area Rotarians to get rolling.
Once the Town approves the direction being proposed (tentatively scheduled to go in front of them at the Feb. 10 regular council meeting), then the application for crucial funding from Ottawa under the Active Transportation Fund (ATF) can officially go ahead.
Canada’s first ever federal strategy for active transportation includes a $400 million dedicated fund, prioritizing investments in infrastructure, such as bike lanes, pathways, and trails to be used for walking, cycling, and wheeling in communities across Canada.
Baum is the co-chair of the steering committee for the Trail project, along with fellow Rotarian and former town of Cochrane CAO Julian deCocq.
Organizers have not settled on a formal name for the Cochrane section of the Trans Canada Trail, but have taken to referring to it as simply ‘The Trail.’
The last three pieces of the puzzle in the first stage of the project will be the trail connection from Cochrane to Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park, a bridge across the Bow River, and a CP Rail crossing. The stretch connecting Cochrane to the park is only a couple of kilometres, but will nonetheless be challenging.
Currently, portions of the trail between Calgary and Cochrane, as well as Cochrane to Canmore, remain unfinished or are not entirely usable for all mobility levels.
Stage One of the trail project seeks to organize interested Alberta residents, organizations, businesses and communities to collaborate on the completion between Calgary and Cochrane, so that it will be contiguous and ready for all to enjoy.
Stage One will connect Haskayne Legacy Park to the Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park and the Town of Cochrane. Once complete, users will be able to ride their bikes from Cochrane to Calgary along the newly connected trail.
The Trail from Calgary to Cochrane will travel along Treaty 7 Territory, connecting with the existing Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park and the Rotary/Mattamy Greenway Trail in Calgary, through Cochrane via a future bridge to the east of town.
While much of this pathway system exists already, it is yet to be fully connected and still requires major fundraising and logistical efforts, particularly for the construction of the pedestrian bridge crossing into Cochrane.
Stage Two, which is in the preliminary planning stages, will connect Cochrane to Canmore.
Jurisdictional partners will own, operate and maintain portions of the trail within their boundaries.
The oversight of this initiative is being coordinated by the Rotary Club of Cochrane.
Baum said the City of Calgary, the province of Alberta, Rocky View County, the Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park Foundation, and the Town of Cochrane have all been working smoothly together.
At some points, the trail will be required to be a certain width to accommodate emergency vehicles, which Baum cites as another example of the types of things planners have to factor into the design.
The team has raised about $700,000 to support the planning work done so far, with an additional commitment of “one to two million dollars from private donors” but the heavy lifting in that department is still down the trail.
That initiative will involve appeals to the federal and provincial governments, the Town of Cochrane, and private donations.
About $500,000 has gone towards planning, as described in their Trail Plan, released last February.
The Trail story is complicated, involving multiple layers of government. but the Rotarians are confident the hurdles are navigable. Stage One of The Trail could conceivably end up coming in with a ballpark budget of $40 million, including planning and construction.
In 2023 a research report was released outlining economic, environmental and health benefits of Canadian trails. It found in Alberta trails provide roughly $2.9 billion in economic benefits. Since its construction in 2010 between Canmore and Banff, the Rocky Mountain Legacy Trail has spurred $47.6 million in economic benefits to businesses in the region.
Baum said one of their overriding goals has always been to avoid burdening taxpayers.
“It’s going to take a nation, not just a village,” he said.
