On March 5th, 2015, the City of Greater Sudbury Council approved its 2015 budget, which now includes dollars for cycling infrastructure.

2015 will see $300,000 spent on the start of a cycle track on Barrydowne Road, as part of a road widening project between the Kingsway and Westmount Ave. Edgelines will also be painted on Moonlight Avenue as part of a reconstruction project that will also see the installation of sidewalks. The cost of this project is estimated at $5,000.

As well, Council unanimously voted to implement yearly funding for cycling infrastructure as part of the implementation of an Active Transportation Network that will be identified by the current Transportation Study. $500,000 is put aside for 2015 projects, and yearly amounts of $800,000 will be identified in the long-range planning list for Roads Capital Projects.

Also in the budget is an additional $162,300 for maintenance of existing local trails, many of which are used by cyclists. This is in addition to the $50,000 already identified in the base budget for trail maintenance.

Other good news included dollars for sustainable issues including watershed studies, transit wayfinding, stormwater remediation for Mountain Street, transit service to St. Gabriel’s Villa, and 4-year funding for the Junction Creek Stewardship Committee.

Staff previously announced that the Transportation Study will be released at the end of March and a process will need to be identified to prioritize cycling projects. If the $500,000 for 2015 projects is not spent this year, it will be put into reserves to be spent in future years.