Several municipalities, including Whitewater Region, to receive cycling infrastructure funding

The Province recently announced funding for the multi-year Ontario Municipal Commuter Cycling program (OMCC) and the County of Renfrew along with 10 local municipalities and the City of Pembroke have leveraged existing budgets to be successful for total of $712,000 towards trail development for commuter cycling in 2017/2018.
OMCC is a multi-year program with $93M available Province wide that will assist 120 municipalities in the first year. Funding for future years will be determined based on availability of cap and trade proceeds. All Ontario municipalities were eligible for annual OMCC funding through an application process to support costs associated with their implementation of eligible cycling projects. OMCC is supported by proceeds from Ontario’s cap and trade program. The purpose of the OMCC program is to provide direct, dedicated, annual funding to Ontario municipalities to support the implementation of cycling infrastructure to encourage people to get out of their cars and onto bikes for their daily commute or other frequent trips.
Warden of the County of Renfrew Jennifer Murphy said,” This significant funding announcement from the Province of Ontario will help make Renfrew County a trail destination for years to come. The residents of Renfrew County we be able to utilize these trails for active transportation and enjoy the all the benefits of using trails to travel and recreate.”
Chair of the County of Renfrew Development Property and Algonquin Trial Advisory Committees, Bob Sweet shared this, “With this investment by the Ministry of Transportation we will be putting in place active transportation travel options which will help to achieve healthy living and wellness benefits for our residents. This will also increase tourism in Renfrew County and expand the offerings our four-season tourist season while assisting to reduce health costs for our residents.”
Renfrew County will receive $372,360. Municipalities in Renfrew County that are each receiving $25,000 are: Laurentian Hills, Laurentian Valley, Greater Madawaska, Admaston/Bromley, McNab/Braeside, Mississippi Mills, Pembroke, Renfrew and Whitewater Region. Petawawa will receive $90,771.