On the road again ...

These days I feel much like the happy warrior,  meeting with cyclists, advocates and politicians, extolling the virtues of cycling  and getting their feedback and ideas on how to make our province and our communities more bicycle friendly. It also provides me with the opportunity to share our vision and get some valuable feedback on our work.

In the last month, I’ve had the pleasure of speaking to the fine members of the Brampton Cycling Club and this past Saturday, with the folks from the Oakville Cycling Club (OCC). A big thank you to Bob Beale, President of the Brampton Cycling Club and OCC President Rob Narejko for the invitation and for their support.

In late September, I travelled to Haliburton for a meeting with community members there and was impressed by how engaged they are in building bicycle friendly communities. A key driver of this initiative in their community is Sue Shikaze, a member of the Haliburton County District Health Unit. Sue, who spoke at the Ontario Bike Summit, is a passionate and committed cycling advocate who has attracted provincial funding to their community. I was so pleased to be invited and so delighted to travel to this beautiful part of the province to talk about cycling in Ontario.

Closer to home, on Saturday afternoon, I received a very warm welcome from the Ontario Cycling Association’s President’s Club Meeting. At the invitation of OCA President Jim Crosscombe, I spoke about the Coalition’s work – our mission, vision, values – and the Ontario Bike Summit including one of its major outcomes --the creation of the Green Paper on Cycling for our province.

Finally, I had the pleasure of addressing the Green Party of Ontario’s leadership and policy convention in London on November 15th. With a provincial election in their sights, their members and candidates engaged in an interesting discussion about how cycling can address so many of our society’s more pernicious issues: obesity, congestion, environmental degradation to name a few.

Throughout I am very pleased with the response to our message. Our efforts to mobilize cyclists across Ontario and engage stakeholders interested in creating bike able communities have been met with great enthusiasm. This bodes well for our mission but more importantly, for the health and well being of our citizens.
I am fond of saying that governments don’t create bandwagons, they jump on them. If our province is to embrace the kind of cycling friendly society we know to be possible then it is going to be up to us to lead that charge.

And because I have met so many citizens who support this vision in my travel, I have great confidence in our ability to build the kind of bicycle friendly “infrastructure” which other jurisdictions across the globe enjoy.

Some of the commonalities these jurisdictions share include political champions  -- look no further than the leadership of Congressman James Oberstar (D-Minn); funding mechanisms (safe routes to school in the U.S., infrastructure funds (Bike B.C.) and bicycle touring routes – La Route Verte) and bike friendly legislation (safe passing laws, requirements tied to infrastructure funding, etc.) such as exists in the United States and in Europe.
Every day, in communities across Ontario, there are individuals who are committed to building healthy and safe communities where cycling is mainstream part of their transportation mix. I have met many of you and look forward to meeting many more of you in the weeks and months ahead.

I never cease to be inspired by your dedication, your enthusiasm, and your ideas. Thank you for being part of our journey as together we build a Bicycle Friendly Ontario.  If you would like to invite me to your community, I would be delighted to do so. You can reach me at Eleanor@sharetheroad.ca

I am off to Ottawa later this week and will be back in touch with details of my trip there. I am very much looking forward to returning to my previous home -- our nation’s capital – and to speaking with cyclists, advocates and politicians there.

I look forward to seeing you soon, on the road!

Yours in safe cycling,

Eleanor McMahon