STR’s Green Paper on Bicycling for Ontario
In 2010, Share the Road released a Green Paper entitled “When Ontario Bikes, Ontario Benefits”. The paper was developed with a number of partners and highlights a variety of important reasons, rooted in research, why bicycling can and should be seen as a solution to the numerous challenges facing our society.
In the paper, we also made a series of reccommendations, including:
- Improve active transportation planning on overpasses
- Enhanced emphasis on consulting active transportation stakeholders as part of the MTO’s strategic planning
- Provincial investments in bicycling infrastructure in municipalities and regions via bicycle tourism
- Ensure sustainable funding for cycling skills training and the Active & Safe Routes to School program
- Update the Ontario Driver’s Manual to increase the awareness of the rights and responsibilities of all vehicles sharing the road
- Creation of television, radio and print public safety announcements as part of an overall awareness campaign to reinforce the importance of sharing the road
- Funding innovative active transportation research
- Support the development of Bicycle Friendly Business programs in order to encourage businesses to embrace the creation and promotion of cycling facilities, training and encouragement programs
- Amend the Highway Traffic Act to include provisions such as a 1m safe passing law and allowance of contra-flow bike lanes
- Establish a Working Group on Bicycling to provide council and advice to government
It is encouraging to see that several of the recommendations made in 2010 have been implemented over the last 5 years. At Share the Road, we continue to advocate for policies and programs that increase the safety and accessibility of cycling for all Ontarians. There is still much to be done!