The year 2023 marks the 10th anniversary of Experience Simcoe County’s Cycle Simcoe initiative, which focuses on building up cycling infrastructure and promoting Simcoe County as a premier cycling tourism destination in Canada.
To commemorate the milestone, Cycle Simcoe has overseen the development and installation of 17 trail hubs, one in each of the county’s 16 member municipalities and an additional unit at the Simcoe County Museum, the County said in a news release.
In partnership with the Orillia and District Arts Council (ODAC), each trail hub, which includes a bench, bike rack and repair station, has also been hand-painted by local artists with unique designs.
The County of Simcoe said it received a non-repayable contribution of $100,000 from Regional Tourism Organization 7 (RTO7) to purchase the bike racks, repair stations and benches for the county trail hubs.
The funding was part of the Government of Canada’s Tourism Relief Fund, delivered by the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), according to the County.
RTO7 received over $7.6 million from FedDev Ontario to help local tourism organizations and businesses safely welcome back visitors, recover from the impacts of the pandemic and prepare for future growth.
Said Filomena Tassi, minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario: "Congratulations to Experience Simcoe County on the 10th anniversary of its Cycle Simcoe initiative! Our government knows that tourism is the lifeblood of many communities across southern Ontario. That is why we are happy to support this project and encourage people from across Ontario to visit and experience these fantastic outdoor cycling trails.”
“Simcoe County is fortunate to be home to some of the best cycling and mountain biking you can find in Ontario," added Simcoe County Warden Basil Clarke. "Through Cycle Simcoe, which is powered by Experience Simcoe County, we are proud to continue to build up programs and initiatives that foster cycling tourism and provide our residents with world-class trail networks. Thank you to the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario for sharing this vision and investing in our region.”
The locations of the 17 hubs can be found by visiting https://cyclesimcoe.ca/.
