Toowoomba and Lockyer Valley Escarpment Mountain Bike Master Plan receives $3.3 million boost

Plans for world-class mountain bike trails in Toowoomba that could host Olympic events in 2032 are one step closer to becoming a reality after a $3.3 million announcement

JUMPING FOR JOY: David Warner, president of Toowoomba Mountain Bike Club, was thrilled the federal government announced it was committing $3.33m to the Escarpment Mountain Bike Master Plan. Picture: Nev Madsen.

For years, the master plan to develop new and improved mountain bike trails in Jubilee and Redwood parks were a dream for the Toowoomba Mountain Bike Club.

Now, with the announcement of $3.33 million in funding from the federal government for the Great Divide Mountain Bike Destination project, their dream is one step closer to becoming a reality and could put the region in the frame to host an Olympic event in 11 years time.

With the current trails through the Toowoomba Escarpment built by volunteers toiling for countless hours, former Toowoomba Mountain Bike Club president Juliet Redding said the development would benefit the club and the region for years to come.

Juliet Redding, former president of the Toowoomba Mountain Bike Club, Dave Warner president TMBC and Garth Hamilton MP. Picture: Nev Madsen.

“At the moment it’s a local bike park, we do get some tourists coming from Brisbane and southeast Queensland, but if we move to a 60km track that brings us up to a national level where people from around Australia would start coming in,” Ms Redding said.

“If we go up to the 100km that takes us up to the international level, so that’s really the key of what we’re driving for, bringing in those international tourists and making this a destination to be able to host events.

“The development of the trails would also help the children coming through and their abilities, so we will have a really good raft of riders for the 2032 Olympics.”

Currently, the Toowoomba Escarpment, which straddles both Toowoomba and Lockyer Valley regional councils, has a network of about 28km of mountain bike trails, with the Great Divide Mountain Bike Destination project to upgrade the existing trails and develop an additional 68.4km over 24 new trails.

The project also includes a plan to develop a primary access node and event hosting space at the Bridge Street Quarry site.

Garth Hamilton MP, David Warner and Juliet Redding. Picture: Nev Madsen.

Groom MP Garth Hamilton said the development of a world-class mountain biking facility in Toowoomba would give Brisbane 2032 Olympic organisers plenty to think about.

“This will establish Toowoomba as a mountain biking mecca and it will not just service our local mountain bike riders but will bring in people from right across the east coast,” he said.

“There’s been a lot of work put into adventure tourism, and for us it’s a new source of revenue for the region, especially if we can bring in new tourists with events on a regular basis.

“This will give Olympic organisers a lot to think about as we will have some of the best mountain bike tracks right here, embedded in the community, by the time the Olympics roll around.”

David Warner and Juliet Redding, current and former presidents of Toowoomba Mountain Bike Club. Picture: Nev Madsen

Toowoomba Mountain Bike Club president David Warner said the development would lay the groundwork for the future growth of the sport in Toowoomba.

“Over the next couple of years we’re going to try and develop an inter-school competition and really drive the school involvement,” he said.

“That will be something that will be quite big, and the development of the trails will amplify that.”

Toowoomba Region Mayor Paul Antonio said the announcement was good news.

“Securing funding of this nature is crucial for council and allows us to further boost tourism to our region,” he said.

“These two exciting projects will not only bring economic opportunities to our community but will leave a lasting legacy that will bring benefits for many years to come.”