Tofino is spicing up an upcoming grant application by sprinkling in some Hollywood flavouring.
With a $3.5 million dollar extension to it’s Multi-Use Path firmly in the needs-column, and no money put aside to pay for it, Tofino’s district office has its hands out to all levels of government, starting with a $1 million ask from the province’s Cycling Infrastructure Partnership Program.
The $1 million request represents the maximum that can be applied for through the program and will give the district its first chance to show off a movie it shot over the summer to highlight its highway’s safety concerns.
“If we’re going to go for gold, let’s go for gold,” said Coun. Cathy Thicke adding the video would add oomph to Tofino’s large funding plea. “It is completed and I think it shows very clearly that that road needs an assessment.”
As was reported by the Westerly News in August, the district budgeted $1,000 to shoot the video, which Thicke had lobbied for after seeing a film commissioned by the Port Alberni Chamber of Commerce highlighting Cathedral Grove’s traffic concerns.
“I’m very happy with the video and the work the videographer did,” Thicke said of Tofino’s finished product.
“I wrote the script with some editorial help and Cameron Dennison volunteered to do the voice over so it would have a more commanding presence.”
The film was shot over a two-week period and council had hoped to present it to Transportation Minister Todd Stone at September’s Union of B.C. Municipalities convention. At the time though, Mayor Josie Osborne doubted Stone would agree to meet with Tofino, citing the minister’s prior Tofitian-snubs, and her skepticism rang true when Stone turned down council’s request.
“When we didn’t get an appointment with the Minister of Transportation, we decided to spend a little more time on the video and make it even better,” Osborne said.
She said the film might not improve Tofino’s chances for cycling infrastructure funding, but wouldn’t hurt either.
“It’s not like a box that you tick on the application, so, they may or may not use it in their evaluation; but no harm to try,” she said.