Cyclists and pedestrians looking to cross Highway 11 from Old Barrie Road or Highway 12 can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that a new connecting trail is coming.
The City of Orillia was successful in its application to the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) for a matching grant of $325,000 from the Ontario Municipal Cycling Infrastructure Program (OMCIP) for the construction of a new bicycle and pedestrian trail over Highway 11 connecting Highway 12 and Old Barrie Road. The $650,000 trail investment will provide a safe transportation corridor over Highway 11 for cyclists and pedestrians to and from Orillia’s west end. The new trail connection, identified as a key link in the City’s Parks, Recreation and Culture Master Plan, will provide greater access to Lakehead University, Rotary Place, Scout Valley, and commercial and retail services in West Orillia.
“Council is thrilled Minister Del Duca and the MTO deemed this key trail connection worthy of their full funding complement through the OMCIP,” said Mayor Steve Clarke. “The City of Orillia has advocated for quite some time the merits of a new trail connection over Highway 11 to promote active transportation in Orillia, enhance the City’s trail system, and provide safe passage for cyclists and pedestrians to and from West Orillia.”
“Having this trail connection added to the City’s expansive Lightfoot Trail System is a huge win for active transportation supporters in Orillia,” said David Campbell, Chair of the City’s Active Transportation Committee. “Providing a safe cyclist and pedestrian crossing over Highway 11 to and from Old Barrie Road opens up the door for active transportation access to recreational, educational, professional, and commercial opportunities.”
The one-kilometre trail connection over Highway 11 will be part of the overall $2.5-million Old Barrie Road Intersection Improvement Project, which includes various road and intersection improvements at the Highway 11/12 interchange at Old Barrie Road, including road realignment and off-ramp extensions. The Old Barrie Road Intersection Improvement Project is currently at the 30 per cent design submission stage with MTO. Before the project goes out for tender, there is a 60 and 90 per cent design stage which leads to the final 100 per cent design approval by MTO. The City is hoping to receive all necessary MTO approvals in time for construction to begin in late summer 2016.
The MTO established the $10 million OMCIP in July 2015 to help municipalities build new, and improve existing, cycling infrastructure. Orillia was one of 150 municipalities to submit expressions of interest to MTO, 51 of which were invited to submit full applications. Municipalities were eligible to apply for funding for up to 50 per cent of the total eligible costs of a cycling infrastructure project to a maximum amount of $325,000. An evidence-based approach was used to select projects that most closely aligned with program objectives such as developing better cycling networks, promoting safety, and enabling cycling to be better recognized as a viable transportation mode.
The City also received approximately $1.6 million towards the Old Barrie Road Intersection Improvement Project from the federal and provincial governments through the Small Communities Fund in July of 2015.
The City of Orillia is a city of 31,000 people in the heart of Ontario’s Lake Country on the shores of Lake Couchiching and Lake Simcoe. Visit our website at
orillia.ca.
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