People-powered mobility key to transportation plan
The city once known as the automotive capital of Canada wants to help people get around using human power.
The City of Windsor has launched Walk Wheel Windsor, an 18-month process to create an active transportation master plan and make it safer and easier for more residents to walk, cycle and use public transit.
“This is all about human-powered transportation and giving people mobility options of how to get around the city,” Josette Eugeni, city manager of transportation planning, said Thursday. “We want to make sure that the cycling network, the pedestrian network and the transit network are all well connected.”
Ward 4 Coun. Chris Holt called the study incredibly important and he encouraged residents to get involved by completing an online survey.
The city’s issues with congestion and road maintenance could be helped by reducing the number of vehicles on roads, he said. “It can actually reduce the number of cars on the street, which in the long run is healthier for us, it’s cleaner air, and it will also reduce our infrastructure deficit. So every single person in the city should take part in this process, whether or not you walk, you ride your bike or you drive, because it’s just better for the city as a whole.”
Holt said Windsor has a climate second to none in Canada and should take advantage of the good weather and flat landscape to create a more welcoming environment for walkers, cyclists and bus riders.
“We’ve really neglected our alternative transportation and active transportation as a whole,” he said.
Active transportation includes walking, cycling, skateboarding, pushing a stroller, using a wheelchair or scooter, and it also includes taking transit since you have to walk or bike to the bus stop, Eugeni said. The transit system is an important link because it broadens where you can go in the city without a car.
The city has a survey online at walkwheelwindsor.ca and wants residents to fill it out to say what would encourage them to walk, cycle or use active mobility options more often.
It asks why and how often people walk, bike and take the bus, and to identify the challenges they face when getting around Windsor. The survey is available until June 29.
The Walk Wheel Windsor team will be at the Earth Day celebration at Malden Park on April 22. Residents who arrive without a car could win a prize.
In November, city council agreed to spend $338,795 plus HST for a consultant to do the active transportation master plan study. The plan will guide policies to provide safe and convenient active transportation options over the next 20 years.
Some people are starting to walk or cycle more, Eugeni said. Some choose to use their cars less to save the environment, some because of the high price of gas, and some for the health benefits of being more active. The active transportation plan can also help people who don’t drive a car because of their age or income.
“I believe there’s a cultural shift, not just in the province of Ontario, but here in Windsor, where people
People will like to have options so they can choose to go to their destination using humanpowered choices.
will like to have options so they can choose to go to their destination using human-powered choices, and we would like to support those choices.”
It’s not just about more bike lanes or sidewalks, but ways to encourage people to be more active, such as Walking Wednesdays, when children in some communities are encouraged to walk to school. It’s also about encouraging people to cycle to work during Bike Month in June, she said.