October is International Walk to School Month

Register now and plan ahead for your school or group Walk to School Event in October 2010!

Feelings mixed over bike lane pilot plans

In a public consultation meeting at the Dalhousie Community Centre, city staff were outlining a pilot project to put a segregated bike-lane route through downtown Ottawa. Somerset Street is only one of 12 streets being considered, but [Peter So, chairman of the Somerset Street Chinatown BIA] had "a bad feeling" that Somerset, centrally located and well connected, would be too tempting for the transportation committee to pass up.

Legible London Walking Programme Wins Top US Wayfinding Prize

Legible London, the wayfinding system designed by Applied Information Group to help make London a world-class walking city, has won a top honour award at the Society of Environmental Graphic Design Design Awards.

The award win suggests that Legible London could provide a model for wayfinding in other world capitals and shows what can be achieved with the close collaboration of designers, city transport authorities and city administrative bodies.

10 ways cities and towns can kick the offshore-oil habit

[L]ocal governments don't have to wait for federal action. Through smart land use, cities, towns, and many rural areas can give residents the option of driving less -- a direct way to stem the demand for offshore (and foreign) oil.

[The author] spoke with leaders of the Smart Growth movement, along with advocates for economic justice, to learn about solutions that don't require new technology and, in many cases, pay for themselves. Want to do something in your own community to respond to BP's oil spill? Here are ten changes worth considering.

County supports development of active transportation plan

Council voted unanimously on Aug. 12 to participate in the development of a county wide active transportation plan, to support a Healthy Commu­ni­ties Partnership grant appli­cation by Wellington Dufferin Guelph Public Health, and will consider contributing finan­cially to the preparation of a county wide active transporta­tion plan as part of its five year capital plan.

Share the Road wins [FCM] award

Haliburton's Share the Road initiative has become more than just a cycling program thanks to an award the county recently received. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities recognized Haliburton County for its contribution to transportation sustainability at the first-ever Municipal Awards of Excellence, held May 29.

Thunder Bay makes progress in AT

Quite a bit has been happening in AT in Thunder Bay ON. Thanks to Adam Krupper, Active Transportation Coordinator, City of Thunder Bay, for sending links to a number of articles talking about the work that they have been doing.

Adam is quite proud of Thunder Bay's efforts, so I hope you will take a few minutes to update yourself on the city's work:

• Article 1
• Article 2 
• Article 3
• Article 4 
• Article 5 

Report: US - The Hidden Health Costs of Transportation

Health impacts and costs have typically not been considered in the transportation policy, planning, and funding decision-making process. There are few standards ormodels for estimating health costs. However, existing research can be used to estimate the population at risk, themagnitude of the health impact, and the health costs associated with those impacts.Growing recognition of the connection between transportation, land development and health has resulted in some studies and examples where health impacts and costs have been considered and assessed. These examples not only demonstrate that health costs should be a significant factor in decision-making, but also show that calculating such costs is indeed possible.

Shaping Active, Healthy Communities – A Heart and Stroke Foundation Built Environment Toolkit for Change

The Heart and Stroke Foundation has developed Shaping Active, Healthy Communities a new tool kit to facilitate community engagement and help Canadians, (concerned citizens, community champions, developers and planners) to work together to influence and change how neighbourhoods are planned and designed so they are more conducive to encouraging physical activity and heart health.

Making Cycling Irresistible: Lessons from The Netherlands, Denmark and Germany

This article shows how the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany have made bicycling a safe, convenient and practical way to get around their cities.

The key to achieving high levels of cycling appears to be the provision of separate cycling facilities along heavily travelled roads and at intersections, combined with traffic calming of most residential neighbourhoods. Extensive cycling rights of way in the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany are complemented by ample bike parking, full integration with public transport, comprehensive traffic education and training of both cyclists and motorists, and a wide range of promotional events intended to generate enthusiasm and wide public support for cycling.