Greater Sudbury earned a bronze Bicycle Friendly Communities Award on Jan. 10, making it Ontario’s 40th Bicycle Friendly Community.
The Share the Road Cycling Coalition announced the latest Bicycle Friendly Community awards for Ontario on Jan. 10 and Sudbury was among the winners.
The town of Ajax also received a Silver Award, which is an upgrade from the town’s previous Bronze designation (2011). In addition to the new awards, The city of Thorold renewed its Bronze designation and Ottawa renewed its Gold status as one of Ontario’s leading bicycle friendly communities.
The Town of Lincoln and the Town of Saugeen Shores both received Honourable Mentions for their applications.
“The new and renewing award recipients in this round illustrate how cycling is growing and evolving across the province of Ontario,” said Jamie Stuckless, Executive Director of Share the Road.
“Municipalities of all shapes and sizes are recognizing that when their communities bike, their communities benefit, be it through improved road safety, decreased congestion, increased support for the local economy or improved health and wellbeing.”
The City of Greater Sudbury joins Thunder Bay and Temiskaming Shores as Bronze level BFCs in Northern Ontario, demonstrating the growing demand for cycling in all areas of the province.
“Greater Sudbury is an example of how the work and support of community groups can help to foster a culture of cycling,” said Stuckless.
“Local organizations like Rainbow Routes and the Sudbury Cyclists’ Union have been working for years to educate people about the benefits and opportunities for cycling in Greater Sudbury, laying the foundation for a more bicycle friendly community. Greater Sudbury has now invested in staff resources and made budgetary commitments to improve their cycling network. They are also receiving more than $1.1 Million from the Ontario Municipal Commuter Cycling Program, giving them the opportunity to develop a connected network of safe cycling infrastructure in the near future.”
The Bicycle Friendly Communities Program is an initiative of the Washington-based League of American Bicyclists that was launched in Ontario in 2010 by Share the Road with support from the Canadian Automobile Association of South Central Ontario.
The program provides incentives, hands-on assistance and award recognition for communities that actively support bicycling.
Municipalities are judged in five categories often referred to as the Five “E’s” of being bicycle friendly:
- Engineering
- Education
- Enforcement
- Encouragement
- Evaluation and Planning
A community must demonstrate achievements in each of the five categories in order to be considered for an award.
