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TD banks chips in for regional trails

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TD Bank employees hit the Galloping Goose trail toward the Atkins Road rest station in View Royal during the unveiling of a new shelter and information kiosk.

TD Bank has chipped in to help improve the Galloping Goose and Lochside regional trails.

The Capital Regional District has graciously accepted the gift of $250,000. The money will go towards improving  the trails by creating more rest and information stops along the way.

The stops have benches, limited shelter and trail maps.

“A number of these rest stations will be developed along these trails,” said Geoff Young, CRD board chair. “You can use them for shade from the sun or shelter from the rain. It depends on the day.”

The announcement of this gift was made at the revealing of the Atkins Road rest station, in View Royal on the Galloping Goose trail on March 30.

By investing in these trails both the CRD and TD Bank want to see residents and tourists to use greener modes of transportation such as cycling.

“When residents use the trails, they help reduce green house gas emissions,” Young said.

“We want to help people learn about green initiatives,” said Mike Pedersen, with TD Bank Group.

TD Bank is the first bank in North America to go carbon neutral. It does this by reducing energy usage, retrofitting its buildings, purchasing green energy credits and carbon offsets, as well as creating carbon offsets, Pedersen said.

The CRD and TD Bank have partnered with an aim to increase the usage of the Lochside and Galloping Goose Trails by 30 per cent.

“I think it’s terrific. There are 16-year-olds in our community who never knew a world without a Galloping Goose,” said View Royal Mayor Graham Hill. “I am deeply concerned with having healthy communities.”

The Lochside and Galloping Goose Trails span more than 80 kilometres in Greater Victoria.

reporter@goldstreamgazette.com