From sea to sea to … the Johnson Street Bridge.
It's not quite the slogan envisioned by the Trans Canada Trail board, but a solution is in the works. Already, the 16,500-km trail has terminals at Atlantic and Arctic oceans, and soon it will also have a terminal at the Pacific Ocean.
"There is one gap in Victoria and that is from the ocean, in the Strat of Juan de Fuca, up to the Johnson Street Bridge where we access the Galloping Goose Regional Trail," said Harold Sellers, project facilitator for the trail in B.C.
Filling 200 trail gaps is part of a major national push, backed by the launch of a new Trans Canada Trail Foundation. Its goal is to finish the project on time for the country's 150 anniversary in 2017.
Up for grabs is trail funding, available to local authorities to get the job done.
The City of Victoria has a proposal in the works to take advantage of any grants.
"That's the nice thing, is they will fund up to 50 per cent of the cost," said Gary Darrah, manager of park development.
"The Western terminus is going to be Clover Point … so what we want to do for that last little stretch (is) route it through Beacon Hill Park," said Darrah. "We just had a meeting with the Trans Canada co-ordinator last week and we're starting to work with him in identifying how we can close that gap."
"We're very interested," confirmed Sellers. "We've been considering that since last year … Clover Point really jumped out because of its location – it's got great proximity to Beacon Hill (and) Mile Zero of the Trans Canada Highway."
Helping to fund the project is an anonymous donation, of which $16,000 is earmarked for the trail extension in Victoria.
In total, there are 16 trail gaps in B.C. and 200 nationwide.
rholmen@vicnews.com