Bicycle-friendly Guelph initiative wins silver at Ontario Bike Summit

Guelphmercury.com
April 14, 2014

Guelph has advanced from bronze to silver at the Ontario Bike Summit in Toronto. The city is one of 24 communities to receive a Bicycle Friendly Community Award.

Guelph won the bronze in 2012 and on Monday received a silver award.

Also winning awards are: The City of Kitchener, silver (previously awarded bronze in 2013); the Town of Halton Hills, bronze; the City of St. Catharine's, bronze; Town of Mississippi Mills and the City of Vaughan, honorable mentions.

"The advancement of existing Bicycle Friendly Communities from bronze to silver highlights an important trend we are seeing right across the province. Municipalities are continuing to invest in making their communities more bikeable," Eleanor McMahon CEO and Founder of Share the Road Cycling Coalition, stated in a release.

"A bicycle friendly community is more connected, more vibrant, more livable and thus more attractive to investors. Having connected cycling routes available for riding to work, to school, or recreationally is an incredibly valuable asset when it comes to choosing where to live or to invest."

Municipalities are judged in five categories — the five 'E's': engineering, education, encouragement, enforcement and evaluation and planning.

A community must demonstrate achievements in each of the five categories in order to be considered for an award. Communities with more significant achievements in these areas receive superior awards. Applications are assessed by a team of experts who receive input from local officials. The Award categories are: Honorable Mention, Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum.

The city joined the Bicycle Friendly initiative in 2009. Bicycle-Friendly Guelph Initiative is working to make cycling safer and more convenient. Using a comprehensive and consultative approach, Bicycle-Friendly Guelph hopes to triple the number of daily bike trips in Guelph by 2018.