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Labor pledges $150k for Albany mountain bike base

Headshot of Sarah Makse
Sarah MakseAlbany Advertiser
Albany Mountain Bike Club members with Tourism Minister Paul Papalia and Labor candidate Rebecca Stephens.
Camera IconAlbany Mountain Bike Club members with Tourism Minister Paul Papalia and Labor candidate Rebecca Stephens. Credit: Sarah Makse/ Albany Advertiser

Albany Mountain Bike Club could have a new $150,000 base if Labor is re-elected in March.

Tourism Minister Paul Papalia joined Albany mountain bikers atop Mt Clarence on Friday to pledge his party’s support for a new multipurpose shed facility for the club.

The solar-powered facility, to be built near the Poikeclerup downhill tracks, will feature a bike wash station and equipment including a mini-excavator to maintain and extend the local trail network.

The election promise comes after Premier Mark McGowan pledged $3.2 million towards walking, hiking and mountain bike trails at Mt Clarence and Mt Adelaide as part of Labor’s plan for Albany.

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Mr Papalia said experiential travel had “exploded” across the State.

He said Albany’s mountain bike trails were already spectacular but needed expansion.

“When it is better supported and defined and has a bit of love invested in it, it will be really attractive,” Mr Papalia said.

“The approvals through environmental processes have been taking a long time. It has been very complex and challenging, but it sounds like we are right at the end of that process and we’ve got the resources and the funding to get on with it.”

Albany Mountain Bike Club president Dora Adelaine said with only two official mountain bike trails in Albany, mountain biking had been “hugely under-catered for”.

“There’s so much demand for mountain biking here. It’s happening everywhere else,” she said.

“It is really exciting to see Albany finally catching up and having this opportunity to develop the trails that are going to be better managed.

“They are going to be purposeful and they will be able to fit the demand that we’ve got here.”

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