Person power between the Sault and Sudbury?

Following in the steps of the John Rowswell Hub Trail, Tourism Sault Ste. Marie is looking into a cycling trail that could potentially lead tourists to our city.

Ian McMillan, Executive Director of Tourism Sault Ste. Marie, said they are looking at establishing a cycling trail – called the Lake Huron North Channel Bike Route - spanning nearly 300 kilometers from Sudbury to the Sault.

"One of our priorities with Tourism Sault Ste. Marie is to continue building on routes, whether that's the hub trail or elsewhere," McMillan said.

Over a year ago, McMillan was approached by members of the Sault Bicycling Club; who had mapped out a potential trail from Sudbury leading to the Sault.

McMillan was immediately intrigued and applied last fall to the newly established Northern Ontario regional tourism organization for funding.

They received $40,000 in funding to hire a consulting firm to further investigate the financial viability of a trail and McMillan said they are currently in the process of choosing a firm from the eight that submitted proposals.

He hopes a firm will be chosen soon and expects to have a draft report from a consulting firm in hand by the end of June.

"Ultimately, the consultants will put together a final suggested route with opportunities and costs factored in," he said. "We have a pretty good idea of what we want to do with this, but we do anticipate some hurdles."

McMillan said the consultants will identify potential issues and work with communities along the proposed trail to fix them.

Potential issues could be dirt sections along the trail which need to be paved and bridges over water that need to be constructed.

McMillan said the consulting firm will determine the appropriate level of government they should seek additional funding from to fix potential problems.

"There's still a bunch of grey areas and what actions we take next will depend on what's in the report."

McMillan did say they have a rough idea of what needs to be done from their pre-work and hopes the trail will help cyclists avoid the Trans-Canada Highway.

"The main idea behind this project is to provide cyclists with a route that would take them off the Trans-Canada Highway," he said.

McMillan said travelling via bicycle along the highway can be dangerous - especially in the four-lane sections - and hopes the trail will provide cyclists with a safe, scenic route to the Sault.

If there are cases where avoiding the highway is not an option, McMillan said the recommended course of action will be included in the report.

McMillan added if there aren't many major obstacles defined in the final report they would move quickly to make the trail a reality.

As for how many potential tourists the trail could bring to the city, McMillan wouldn't speculate, but was optimistic given the 130 people who showed up for a Northern Ontario Bike Summit held last summer in the Sault.

At the summit McMillan said representatives from Southern Ontario discussed how they constructed bike trails.

"The meeting got everybody excited about the possibility about not only cycling, but the development of various routes that might ultimately be able to connect us right across the province," he said.

In addition to the province, McMillan has also been speaking with representatives from Michigan and hopes to eventually join promotional forces with them.

"Hopefully, once we're operational, we can join forces with our counterparts in Michigan to promote a link from Ontario into Michigan that will open the door to United States residents who are looking for cycling opportunities," said McMillan.

"This would be another tool in our tool belt when it comes to promoting Sault Ste. Marie."