Walking is a great way to become physically active

Advocacy group will try to make streets safer for pedestrians

Walking is the most common form of physical activity in Cape Breton.

It has many benefits for our mental and physical health. It helps the environment by reducing our greenhouse gas emissions. It makes our communities more vibrant.

Walking infrastructure is generally quite good in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. There are really great sidewalks in most neighbourhoods and there are some wonderful trails in many of our communities. However, there is still room for improvement, especially when it comes to keeping pedestrians safe when crossing roads.

I read Megan Evans letter to the editor (Pedestrians Risking Life and Limb in Crosswalks, Nov. 18) with great interest.

I have been involved in work with the municipality's active transportation plan for a number of years.

The plan, which has been approved by council for many years, has been a great guide that has been used to help make roads safer for cyclists, build trails, put bike racks on buses and in other key locations, provide benches for people who are walking around our community and create many other positive assets.

However, crosswalk safety is a discussion that has popped up time and time again, particularly when it comes to crosswalks that cross busy streets with four or more lanes — crosswalks similar to the ones Megan Evans refers to in her letter. There are design standards for these crosswalks recommended in the active transportation plan but nothing has changed in the years since the plan has been in place. Last year, a pedestrian was killed in a cross-

Last year, a pedestrian was killed in a crosswalk on Prince Street and it is

only a matter of time before someone is injured

or killed again.

walk on Prince Street and it is only a matter of time before someone is injured or killed again.

There is a group of citizens that are starting up a pedestrian safety advocacy group in CBRM. The purpose of the group is to bring together concerned citizens to praise the municipality for positive pedestrian assets and to advocate for changes to make walking safer where needed.

The municipality has been responsive to citizens in the past and has made changes to make roads and sidewalks safer when residents have pointed out issues.

This advocacy group will aim to regularly engage with both the municipal and provincial governments to make walking as safe as possible in CBRM and, in so doing, to encourage more people to take advantage of this wonderful form of physical activity.

The first meeting of the advocacy group takes place on Wednesday and 7 p.m. at ACAP Cape Breton. For more information, contact ACAP at 567-1628 or acapcb@acapcb.ns.ca.

This group represents a great step forward for building on the amazing opportunities for walking that already exist in our communities.

Cape Breton is a playground. Go out and play.