Quebec and Montreal area governments commit to investing $150 million on bike and pedestrian path network

A plan to build a 143-kilometre bike and pedestrian path across the Montreal region came a step closer to reality Wednesday when three levels of government said they will invest the $60 million needed to create it by 2018. Read more.

Cut My Commute Campaign - Federation of Canadian Municipalities

Gridlock and long commutes have an effect on everyone. The most recent estimate in 2006 pegged the cost of traffic delays at more than $5 billion a year, but there is growing evidence that today's cost is much higher.

Bicycle and pedestrian commuters often feel the same pain. Heavy traffic is often less safe and less pleasant for cyclists. And congested streets leave little room to add bike lanes. Gridlocked downtown cores add to air pollution, which affects pedestrians and shoppers.

To compete globally, Canada needs fast, efficient transportation networks. These networks must connect companies to customers, workers to jobs, and cities to international markets and needs both coordination and long-term funding.

Over the past 10 years, capital investments in transit totaled over $10 billion, which has produced nearly 140,000 jobs and nearly $21 billion in total economic output.

So rest assured gridlock commute times affect every Canadian, including you. Tell your government how much you care: Cut-my-commute campaign.

Canada Bikes on Twitter

The newly forming national association for cycling has opened a Twitter account: @Canada_Bikes.

Follow today, and be connected with community and provincial cycling associations from across Canada.

Parks and Recreation Ontario Webinars

A reminder that Parks and Recreation Ontario is offering a series of 5 Community Development Webinars taking place in January and February 2013. This series of 5 one and one-half hour webinars builds on the first series offered in the Fall and covers:

1. Trendwatching
2. Planning Using a Community Development Approach
3. Tools for Planning Using a Community Development Approach
4. Working with Community Groups
5. Tools and Resources for Enhancing Community Leadership.

 
The first Webinar is Wednesday, January 30^th at 1:00 pm EST, with the remaining four Webinars on the next four Wednesdays.

For additional information and for the registration form, please follow this link.

Parks and Recreation Ontario
416-426-7142
pro@prontario.org

Mayor Bloomberg Tells World (Bank) Pedestrian Plazas Are Here to Stay

Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan cut the ribbon on Willoughby Plaza, the first permanent pedestrian plaza in the city. Afterwards, she told The Observer that even after she and Mayor Bloomberg are out of City Hall, the plazas will persist thanks to public support. The same morning, 200 miles away in Washington, the mayor was delivering the same message to The World Bank. Read more.

1st Electric Freeway for e-Bikes & e-Scooters

 In Holland the first electric freeway, specially built for commuters on electric bikes and scooters will open before the end of this year. The freeway must get people out of their cars and on bikes. Read more.

How Urban Design Affects our Health

As a behavioural psychologist, James Sallis started out trying to understand how to motivate people to become more physically active. But, like many of his colleagues, he soon found that whatever worked only worked a little, on a few people, for a short time. Soon, Dr. Sallis came to see the modern urban environment as a big part of the problem. Place matters, he decided, and he set about investigating the design of public spaces and their influence on physical activity and the obesity epidemic. Read more.

Complete Streets Forum 2013

Mark your calendar! TCAT and Share the Road Cycling Coalition (STR) are pleased to announce that their 2013 annual conferences will once again be a joint event. TCAT’s 2013 Complete Streets Forum (May 27, 2013) and STR’s Ontario Bike Summit (May 28-29, 2013) will take place at the Hyatt Regency in Toronto. Read more.

Mowat talks 'active transportation' at bike summit

Speaking at the Walk and Roll Summit, which brought together stakeholders to learn and share best practices related to active transportation, Dr. David Mowat, Peel's medical officer of health presented some sobering statistics encouraging people to pursue a more active lifestyle. Read more.

Cycling Solutions: Why Germany Has All The Answers

Whenever we think cycling, our thoughts always drift to the Dutch and the Danes. They seem to have all the answers. Yet neighbouring Germany should be a feast for any bicycle advocate yearning for expertise. Cycling in Europe’s most populous nation is booming. Read more.

America Is a Walking Disaster

In much of America, walking – that most basic and human method of movement, and the one most important to our health – is all but impossible. Maybe not literally impossible, but inconvenient at best, and tragically dangerous way too often. Read more.

Ryerson report puts active transportation in fast lane

Ryerson University planning students tied their laces and toured Huntsville to create an in-depth report on the state of accessible walking and cycling infrastructure in Huntsville. Read more.

Zip line could spark Ottawa pedestrian path makeover

The new executive director of the Sparks Street Business Improvement Area, Les Gagne, says there are plans to install a 300-metre zip line above the street. Read more.

Petition - Truck Sideguards

Sideguards will save lives.They are mandatory by law in the UK and some European countries already. Karen Hartmann wishes to submit a petition to the Parliament of Canada requesting that truck sideguards become mandatory in Canada as well. Read and sign the petition.

NYC DOT Prepares for 12,000 Parking Meter-to-Bike Rack Conversions

NYC DOT has contracted with Louis Barbato Landscaping to make 12,000 bike racks that can be affixed to defunct single-space parking meter poles. Read more.

How Economic Growth sold Portland landlords on a bikeway

Not long ago, in the dark days of auto-only transportation planning, a property manager that urged the city to eliminate two auto lanes adjacent to its planned 650-apartment complex might have been judged completely insane. Read more.

Active Transportation and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in U.S. Adults

The American Journal of Preventative Medicine recently published a study which examined the prevalence and effects of active transportation on a population, active transportation is defined as walking or biking as a form of transportation as opposed to leisure time activity: Active Transportation and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in U.S. Adults

Workout minutes on more doctors' check lists

Kaiser Permanente, one of the nation's largest non-profit health insurance plans, made a big push a few years ago to get its southern California doctors to ask patients about exercise. Since then, Kaiser has expanded the program across California and to several other states. Now almost 9 million patients are asked at every visit. Read more.

Scotland Invests £53 Million in Cycling

As the Scottish Government invests £53million in Scotland's cycle paths, the Transport Minister is urging us all to get on our bikes as a way of getting around. Read more.

Walking Reduces Stroke Risk Among Women

New research reveals that walking at least three hours a week reduces the risk of stroke among women. Read more.

Diabetes More Common In Non-Walkable Neighborhoods

A new study published in Diabetes Care, defined a "less walkable" neighborhood as having fewer places within a 10-minute walk, poorly connected streets, and lower residential density. Read more.

Smart Growth and Economic Success

This report is the first in a series from U.S. Environmental Protection Agebcy’s Smart Growth Program designed to inform developers, businesses, local government, and other groups about the benefits of smart growth development. Read the report.

Reimagining Bicycle-Friendly Cities

This International Bicycle Urbanism Symposium, organized by the Department of Urban Design and Planning and the College of Built Environments, University of Washington, will be held in Seattle in June 2013, will explore how best to encourage and facilitate widespread bicycle use in 21st Century cities. Read more.

10-year-old invents light-up crosswalks

[A]dorable Aurora, 10, had a really good concept — crosswalks where the stripes glow and flash! — and then you built it and it was cool and she was happy. See the video.