National

B.C. to spend $24 million on community walking and cycling projects

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 25 Mar, 2024 01:05 PM

The British Columbia government is handing out $24 million to more communities that want to improve their walking and cycling infrastructure.

The Active Transportation Infrastructure Grants program is part of a cost-sharing agreement with Indigenous, local and regional governments that provides up to $500,000 for infrastructure projects, and up to $50,000 to develop the active network plans.

Dan Coulter, minister of state for infrastructure and transit, made the announcement in Sooke on Monday, where two projects are being funded by the case, including the completion of the Little River trail and extending sidewalks and bike lanes.

He says the newest funding will support 80 projects across the province that will give people more affordable and convenient ways to explore their communities.

Sooke Mayor Maja Tait says the funding for her district will be a "game changer" for people getting around the community, with improved traffic flow that is safe for pedestrians and cyclists.

Coulter says 291 projects have been funded through the program over the last five years.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

'It's never easy': Suspect dead, police officer injured in Calgary shootout

Flashing lights and police tape encircled a strip mall in northeast Calgary late Wednesday afternoon after a shootout that sent a police officer to hospital and left one suspect dead. Police say tactical team officers were executing a high-risk warrant at McKnight Village, in the northeastern community of Falconridge, at about 1 p.m.

'It's never easy': Suspect dead, police officer injured in Calgary shootout

Atmospheric river passes in southern B.C., but area rivers still rising

Rainfall warnings across Vancouver Island and the inner south coast have lifted in most areas, but the effects of British Columbia's first atmospheric river of autumn could take a little longer to ease. The B.C. River Forecast Centre posted flood watches across western Vancouver Island and for the Englishman River near Parksville, warning of levels seen only once every 10 years on some waterways.

Atmospheric river passes in southern B.C., but area rivers still rising

Tentative deal ends job action by teaching support staff at Simon Fraser University

Nearly 1,600 members launched job action on Sept. 26 after being without a collective agreement for 19 months, forcing the cancellation of tutorials, labs, lectures, office hours and the marking of assignments. Key issues included wages, class size and pensions for instructors.

Tentative deal ends job action by teaching support staff at Simon Fraser University

Overdose homicide in Nanaimo

Mounties in Nanaimo say they're investigating the fatal drug overdose of a woman back in March that they now believe was a homicide. The Nanaimo R-C-M-P says its serious crime unit is looking into the death of 52-year-old Wendy Head, who was found dead at a home in the city on March 7th.

Overdose homicide in Nanaimo

Escalating theft and violence aside, London Drugs not considering closures: president

London Drugs president Clint Mahlman says the company has no plans to close stores due to escalating violence and theft, though the issue has reached a "crisis point" for Canadian retailers. Mahlman says the company was disappointed to learn that a Vancouver city councillor said on social media that London Drugs was considering closing one of its main stores in the city, at the intersection of Granville and Georgia streets, due to crime.

Escalating theft and violence aside, London Drugs not considering closures: president

Funding for BC hospitals

Hospitals in Merrit, Oliver and Salmon Arm will get 7.5-million-dollars in permanent funding from the province to help stabilize physician emergency-room coverage. Health Minister Adrian Dix says challenges like worker recruitment and retention and the ongoing toxic-drug crisis are more prominent in rural and remote communities.