Council will peddle mountain bike plan
NEW mountain biking trails on the Toowoomba escarpment will be at the top of the council’s list of shovel-ready tourism projects ready to submit to the State Government.
Mayor Paul Antonio said he was excited by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s announcement of the $25 million growing tourism infrastructure fund.
Cr Antonio said putting the Toowoomba and Lockyer Valley Escarpment Mountain Bike Master Plan, approved in 2019, into action was one of the top tourism infrastructure priorities for the council.
“We would certainly take advantage of it if we got the opportunity,” he said.
“We’ve been working on what we want to put our hand up for, and we’ll do some work on this.
“I believe there has been some serious work done on the escarpment.
“We don’t have the only mountain in southern Queensland, but we are within an hour and half of three million people.
“The potential for the Lockyer Valley and Toowoomba to work together is enormous.”
Aside from the big ticket items, Cr Antonio said the funding also created opportunities for projects in the region’s small towns.
It comes as the council released its biennial community satisfaction survey, which revealed rural residents weren’t as happy with the council as their urban counterparts.
“The smaller communities do have some need to build tourism,” Cr Antonio said.
“(It’s possible) if you look at Clifton with their megafauna, and the possibilities of places like Crows Nest for walking trails and Oakey where we have an opportunity to recognise the armed service contributions to that town.
“Even in my home town of Millmerran, which is the camp oven capital of Australia, there are opportunities.
“In the future, we really do need to think about building some resilience in those small towns.”
Ms Palaszczuk encouraged submissions for projects that were ready to go.
“If you’ve got plans drawn up and you’re looking for funding, you’d be crazy not to apply,” she said.