The BikeBC projects for this year included $1 million for an overpass over Hwy. 1 so that Abbotsford cyclists could get to UFV without navigating a traffic circle.
The Capital Regional District (Victoria) received the same amount for a bike trail, while the City of Victoria received another $890,000 for another bikeway.
BikeBC bucks didn’t make it to Maple Ridge or Pitt Meadows this year, though, because neither city applied for any of the funding.
Each year, the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure doles out money for cycling infrastructure with cities also contributing money towards cycling infrastructure projects.
Last year, Maple Ridge received $254,270 from BikeBC to help pay for the separated bike and pedestrian path on the north side of 128th Avenue, between 210th and 216th streets. The four-laning and bike path construction of that section is now complete.
The year before that, Maple Ridge received $50,000 for the Hammond Trail bike path.
This year, BikeBC gave more than $6.5 million to 23 communities in B.C. for bike infrastructure.
The 25 projects that received funding this year include bike lanes, multi-use trails and improvements to roads and highways to allow better shared use for cyclists.
The Abbotsford bike path and overpass over Hwy. 1 will cost a total of $5.75 million, with BikeBC paying for 20 per cent of that.