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Mayor Bigger kicks off Bike Month with a ride around town

Mayor's Bike Ride in its second year

For the second year in a row, Mother Nature smiled on Sudbury cycling enthusiasts as they hit the trails for the 2019 Mayor's Bike Ride on June 6.

This was the second year that mayor Brian Bigger has kicked off Bike Month with an evening ride starting in the heart of the city's downtown and exploring bike trails as far south as Kelly Lake Road before looping back downtown.

"This ride is about celebrating new and existing cycling infrastructure and where we try to showcase all the great things that are happening to make cycling safer for our community," said Rachelle Niemela, Bike Sudbury (formerly Sudbury Cyclist Union).

"The city has been busy building a lot of cycling infrastructure in the last couple of years and it's great to see it springing up all over the place and getting connected now."

Mayor Bigger explained that the city's existing cycling infrastructure is already pretty good and he's proud of council's commitment to supporting cycling in the city. Ward 9 Coun. Deb McIntosh took part in the Mayor's Bike Ride and was a strong proponent for council's recent motion to declare a climate emergency.

The motion includes policy choices that increase the proportion of residents that can choose active transportation modes like cycling or public transit for their daily needs.

"It was very easy supporting the direction that council is taking," said Bigger. "One thing that we've done is rather than just create a vision, we've actually put money behind it. In our first year when I was mayor we put $800,000 a year towards improving cycling infrastructure. There's a lot of work to be done but slowly and surely the entire system is being improved. It's so encouraging to see more and more people out on their bikes."

Bigger says it's exciting to see people cycling in the city and on main thoroughfares like the Kingsway.

"People are cycling places they never would have thought of before and now it's an option for them," said Bigger.

The city hired on Marisa Talarico in 2016 as their active transportation coordinator to work full-time analyzing the city's cycling infrastructure and prioritizing where improvements can and should be made.

"Assigning somebody to that role full time was a huge step forward," said Bigger, who explained that new businesses in Sudbury are locating with cyclists in mind.

"You look at Spacecraft, the decided on that location knowing that we were planning on expanding our cycling track along Paris and Notre Dame. It's good for the community, it's good for the economy, it's good for the environment."

Next up on the Bike Month schedule is Bike to Work Day on June 12.

You can check out the full list of Bike Month events at greatersudbury.ca/bikemonth.


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