Ontario seeks public input in implementing provincial cycling strategy
The province is welcoming public comments on the plan until May 12
By implementing #CycleON Action Plan 1.0, a provincial cycling strategy, Ontario is taking steps to not only better protect cyclists, but to get more people in the saddle across the province.
The ambitious initiative has been discussed since 2013.
A problem with cycling in Ontario, the plan’s summary says, is that infrastructure across the province—mostly the result of municipal planning on the local level in towns and cities—is disconnected, missing the opportunity to create a broader, more comprehensive network. By addressing this issue, the resulting network would boost cycling tourism, as infrastructure developed in the province’s Kawarthas region has done, and also encourage healthier, active lifestyles while setting a precedent for building a more cycling-friendly future, the plan says.
With half of the network’s infrastructure already in place locally, it’s a matter of connecting it all to create the final, province-wide system. The provincial government is seeking the public’s input in identifying where those connections should be made.
The plan hopes to achieve four objectives: promote recreational and cycling tourism, connect municipal cycling routes and places of interest, identify areas of provincial infrastructure that should accommodate cycling, and finally, prioritize the investment in future cycling infrastructure on provincial highways.
The province is seeking the public’s input for 30 days, between April 12 and May 12. Further information—including how to sound off on the plan—is available on the Ontario government’s website.
