Trail System Expands
In The Blue Mountains

Historic Train Station To Act As Starting Point For Trail System and Interpretive Centre
It was a double celebration on November 3rd as The Depot celebrated restoration plans and The Blue Mountains celebrated an expanding trail system. Blue Mountain's George Weider (top right) says restoration work at the 125 year old Craigleith Train Station will cost approximately $500,000.00. New bike-pedestrian lanes (below) were officially opened, linking trails throughout The Blue Mountains.
HISTORIC TRAIN STATION CELEBRATION

The Depot, Craigleith's 125 year old historic train station, hosted a special sod turning ceremony on Thursday November 3rd to celebrate restoration plans for the site and to mark the new starting point for the expanding Town of The Blue Mountains Trail System. George Weider of Blue Mountain Resorts is the Chairperson of the Craigleith Depot Fund. He says the price tag to restore the former train station sits close to $500,000.00. The site once greeting skiers who had made the journey from Toronto and Collingwood to ski at nearby Blue Mountain. The train station opened in 1880. Weider says private donations represent approximately fifty percent of the funds needed for the restoration project, with other funds coming from the Ontario Trillium Foundation and Ontario Superbuild Funding.

The plan is to have the former train station act as the starting point for people to walk, jog and bike along the Town of The Blue Mountain's Trail System, linking to the Collingwood Trail System. The Depot will also act as an interpretive centre. The Town of The Blue Mountains officially opened new bike-pedestrian lanes along a 5 kilometre stretch of roadway at the bottom of Blue Mountain on Thursday November 3rd. These new bike-pedestrian lanes greatly help walkers, joggers and bikers move from trail to trail and help link trails in the Blue Mountain area to Collingwood trails. A ribbon cutting ceremony was held along Grey County Road 19, officially opening the new bike-pedestrian lanes. These lanes connect many new subdivisions along the base of the Niagara Escarpment. Approximately $300,000.00 in Ontario Superbuild funding was used for this specific project. In total, three million dollars in Ontario Superbuild Funding is available to the Town of The Blue Mountains for trail projects.



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