It’s been just under two weeks since the Tour of Alberta made it’s way through the city and county of Grande Prairie and both Mayor Bill Given and Reeve Leanne Beaupre consider the event a huge success for both communities. Beaupre says that while it was important for each to host their own stage of the race, the still acted as excellent support systems for each other.
“I think that one played off of the other and the support that each municipality gave to each other- whether it was organizing or promoting the region- I think was beneficial to both of us.”
Mayor Bill Given says there are things that could be improved on if the city were to be a host community again in the future, however the timing of the event and size of the route were somewhat unavoidable.
“It was timed so that we could have a prime time, national audience across Canada. It is the type of event that has to happen within city limits, covering a fairly large area, so there are inevitable impacts on traffic.”
Given says in the future there is certainly more that could be done to make sure residents were more aware of road closures and better able to plan their commute.
All in all, Beaupre says the event was a home run for the region.
“We wanted to make sure that we brought this world class event to out community but we also wanted to showcase our community and what we have to offer to the world and I certainly think we did a very good job of that.”
Both communities are expecting to receive information on the economic impact of the tour from organizers sometime in the near future.
