Invermere, Kimberley, Fernie and Sparwood are receiving provincial funds to help with pathway infrastructure to connect neighbourhoods to parks and town centres.
The District of Invermere will get $500,000 to make safety enhancements to 550 metres of a trail that serves Invermere schools.
B.C. officials said the multi-use path also connects regional trail systems and the funds will help keep people safe.
“The District of Invermere is excited and thankful for the continued support we have received for active-transportation projects in and around our community,” said Al Miller, mayor of Invermere.
“A healthy and safe multi-use pathway upgrade, directly servicing our neighbourhoods, community schools and connecting the Invermere trail system with regional trail networks is a giant positive and will be used and appreciated by many on a daily basis.”
Fernie will also receive $500,000 to pave the 1.9-kilometre Annex Park trail loop between the West Fernie Bridge and the Leo T. Nimsick Bridge.
The District of Sparwood is set to get $272,358 for the Active Transportation Corridor project.
The project includes 1.7 kilometres of active-transportation paved pathways with the purpose of linking two major gaps in the district’s pathway network.
The City of Kimberley will be receiving $204,628 to upgrade existing dirt pathways to create 0.46 kilometres of safe multi-use pathways.
The four East Kootenay communities are a part of thirty-three Indigenous and local governments getting money.