An interstate nomination has given Blue Derby the top gong.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The trails were announced as the Best Built Cycle Project at the Cycle Luminaries Awards hosted in Brisbane last week.
Dorset mayor Greg Howard said the attraction was nominated for the award by a Victorian resident who had flown to Tasmania just to ride the trail.
“They sent us an invitation two weeks out and said we were one of the finalists and that we were invited to attend the function … up until that point we didn’t even know we’d be nominated,” Cr Howard said.
“He comes from an area that have their own mountain bike trails and he came over specifically to ride our trails and he was just so impressed with what he saw that he went through with the nomination.”
Cr Howard said there were 67 entries in the category, from cities and municipalities all around Australia, making the win very exciting.
“They cut it down to 11 finalists and then down to three finalists who were then invited to the night and we snagged the prize,” he said.
“We’re very proud of what we’ve done up there at Blue Derby and the Blue Tier.”
Cr Howard said being different to the other entrants was an advantage.
“It was a combination of both being unique and the quality of being able to deliver,” he said.
“(The other entrants) have built bike paths basically to shift commuters and recreational pursuits within the city boundaries.”
The award is the second for the trails, which were award a Local Government Association Award about 18 months ago.
“For Derby, these trails have turned it from virtually a ghost town into a thriving little town,” Cr Howard said.
“We’re getting close to having 40,000 riders on the track. So 40,000 people coming into an area where they wouldn’t have come for any other reason is a substantial boost for the north east.
“Every rider that rides the trails, spends an average of 4.4 nights in Derby. They also spend three to four nights elsewhere in Tasmania, so it’s not only the North-East that benefits, it’s the rest of Tasmania.”
Cr Howard said the awards have been running since the early 2000s.