Cross-border trail tourism plans announced in Windsor
A memorandum of understanding has been signed to develop a binational Great Lakes tourism destination opportunity by 2024.
Trans Canada Trail, the Waterfront Regeneration Trust in Ontario, the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources made the announcement on Friday.
“We’re incredibly proud to join in this MOU with the Waterfront Regeneration Trust and our trail partners in the United States,” said Eleanor McMahon, president of the Trans Canada Trail.
“Thirty years ago, the Trans Canada Trail began as a dream of a small group of Canadians who envisioned a national trail that would connect Canadians to nature and to one another. In this anniversary year, we are elated to expand on this foundational theme by taking it cross-border, opening doors to enhanced tourism and recreation opportunities, to active transportation corridors, and to activating Canada’s trail-based tourism economy.”
Coinciding with the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge, officials say this destination opportunity will pave the way for cross-border trail tourism experiences promoting the use and enjoyment of the greenways, waterways and communities of Windsor and Detroit.
The binational partnership builds on greenway systems started first in Windsor in the 1960s and ‘70s, and in southeast Michigan in the ‘90s, in response to increasing public demand for access to the waterfront and active modes of transportation.
The plan includes the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail (3,600 km/2,200+miles), a part of the Trans Canada Trail (+5,200 km/3,200+ miles in Ontario) to the Iron Belle Trail in Michigan (+3,200 km/2,000+ miles) and The Great Lakes Way (+500 km/300+ miles).
The MOU partners are expected to amplify these existing trail networks and assets and leverage the non-motorized transportation (cycling and walking) infrastructure features of the new Gordie Howe International Bridge, for the enjoyment of residents and visitors.
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