Strike while the iron is hot, says West Vancouver’s Spirit Trail Working Group chair.

Armed with a public engagement plan and growing interest, the district should keep the momentum going on its $12-million portion of the North Shore Spirit Trail, which is slated to connect Horseshoe Bay to Deep Cove, Rick Gregory said recently.

With the help of a $490,503 federal and provincial grant and $500,000 from Park Royal Shopping Centre, West Van started work on the first 1.4-kilometre segment behind the mall.

“The sense of urgency is really tied into engagement. It is about getting the information out and getting feedback and figuring out how we are going to get over the hurdles to get this thing moving,” Gregory said.

Although both the working group and the district want to move forward, the project’s progress hinges on money, West Van’s roads and transportation manager Brent Dozzi said.

Studies indicate 70 per cent of trips on the trail will originate between Dundarave and Lions Gate Bridge, the segment the district’s currently focused on, he said.

“The funding certainly has been readily available up to now and of course a lot of that is stimulus funding by the various levels of government,” Dozzi said. “After (the Olympics) it is hard to say.”

West Van has raised $4.2 million for the project, but Dozzi warns the $12 million estimate is very rough — a point Coun. Michael Evison asked staff to report on in the fall.

“It’s important to have a sense of the total cost,” he told council. “Twelve million dollars from Ambleside to Horseshoe Bay seems to be a bit on the light side.”

The district has not ruled out contributions from the private sector to aid the project.

“We’re brainstorming ideas — grants, developer funding, private funding — all those sorts of avenues will be explored to build the balance of the trail,” Dozzi said.

The City of North Vancouver has completed a portion of the Mosquito Creek trail. One million dollars of provincial money will be matched by the city for the construction of the trail between Lonsdale and Park & Tilford.

“We applied for Build Canada fund money for the pedestrian overpass over the railway tracks at the west side of the auto mall,” CNV Mayor Darrell Mussatto said. “That would hook us up with the District of North Vancouver.”

The District of North Vancouver, meanwhile, is working on detailed drawings for the western section between the West Van border, along Welch Street, to the North Van city border, the district’s spokeswomen Jeanine Bratina said.

Currently a consultant and resident committee are determining a preferred route, which once ironed out and pending funding, could begin construction next year, she said.