Closing the Gap a cycle tourism opportunity… “on the road between Deep River and Ottawa”

Carleton Place Town Council April 26, 2016

Jeff Mills

Mississippi Mills Month Mississippi Mills Active Transportation Advisory Committee by Bike Regional Rep Share the Road Cycling Coalition

Tonight: We ask Carleton Place Municipal Council for a letter of support to help us bring the Waterfront Network, Southern Ontario Bicycle Circle Route through Carleton Place and North East Lanark County.

So what is the ? • The world-renowned Great Lakes Waterfront Trail is more than 1600 kilometres long • connecting 76 communities • More communities are on board and more trail is in development to create a large spine loop of the southern part of the province From a Toronto Star article that helped us reimagine cycling connections beyond communities and regions to across the province. Toronto Star July 2014 Waterfront Regeneration Trust ED Marlaine Koehler So where is the gap?

We aren’t talking about the potential CP Rail Line/ from Smiths Falls to Mattawa

We are very appreciative of our two county councils for tackling this great project and see its value

This is something different that could be linked in the future

Marlaine Koehler: “Consider a road route that can be worked on at the same time as the CP acquisition negotiations so that you are ready.” December 8, 2014 Waterfront Trail The fully signed Trail is a combination of • paths (21%), • neighbourhood streets (21%), • and rural roads (58%). See more at: http://www.waterfronttrail.org

• The Waterfront Trail is interested in routes near water • They are not interested in multi-use (mixing motorized/non-motorized) Cyclists are looking for “experiential tourism” Imagine a route designed to show off our cultural assets Main Streets and Museums, Coffee Roasters and Micro-breweries, Farm Gate Sales and Country B&B’s, Festivals and Events, and food offerings from ice cream to maple; farmer’s markets to fine dining… How can we create the future we want using an asset-based approach… How can we close the gap?

1) What do we want life to be like? 2) Who else cares about this? 3) What resources do we have together that none of us has on our own?

Creating the Future

So what do we have? Where do we start? So who else cares about us and this provincial route?

The three most important cycle advocacy, cycle tourism, and cycle trail groups in Ontario

• Share the Road • Ontario by Bike • Waterfront Regeneration Trust

We already have lots…

Mississippi Mills Bicycle Month • Well connected to Renfrew and Ottawa • Well connected provincially • And has a willingness to engage

*Mississippi Mills has just received bronze-level Bicycle-friendly Community status

Trans- Trail already comes to Carleton Place and offers a safe route to and from the city

We have beautiful small towns with restaurants, accommodation, points of interest, festivals and events and so much more…

Why? http://www.ontariobybike.ca/from- niche-to-now

Bike tourism is booming. Research by the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport (MTCS) shows that, in 2010, two million Canadian visitors participated in cycling activities in Ontario and spent $391 million. This represents an increase of 25 per cent in the number of visitors and 18 per cent in spending over 2009.34 Some routes connect with Eastern Ontario “We’d love a route from along the Ottawa crossing to Pembroke and back on the Ontario side to Ottawa.” Louis Carpentier, Director, developpement de la Route Verte On 1 April 2015, as part of Ontario’s 20-year #CycleON strategy, the province announced it’s moving forward with a • $25-million investment over three years to create a more cycling-friendly future

• This includes $15 million for cycling routes that provide key connections and linkages on provincial highways, such as paved highway shoulders

• Ontario also dedicated $10 million to the Ontario Municipal Program to help municipalities expand local cycling routes and connect with provincial cycling routes

“Sometimes a bike isn’t just a bike,” Millstone News, Mississippi Mills Councillor, Jill McCubbin

Presently in the works… • Ontario by Bike is working with cycling staff at the City of Ottawa to develop “rural routes” through the rural areas of the city and beyond into neighbouring counties

• Engineering firm MMM Group is working with the Province of Ontario on building a network of cycling routes across the province Bicycle Month believes that a route that uses existing roads and trails to connect Deep River, through Lanark to Ottawa and the provincial route • would make a great 2017 project • would offer a boost to our local economies • is achievable using an asset-based approach of leveraging community groups who care: • service clubs, local business, Chambers of Commerce etc. • Ontario Highlands Tourism Organization • Lanark County Tourism • municipal stakeholders • Renfrew and Lanark Counties • City of Ottawa • cycling groups

We ask Carleton Place Municipal Council for a letter of support to help us bring the Waterfront Trail Network, Southern Ontario Bicycle Circle Route through Carleton Place and North East Lanark County.

Thanks Any questions?

Jeff Mills [email protected]