At first glance, Guelph seems to be a pretty friendly city for cyclists and pedestrians. With great accessible green space such as the Arboretum, a do-it-yourself bike repair shop, and plentiful bike parking on campus, the resources available particularly to University of Guelph students do a lot to support active transportation as a means of getting to and around the university. Within the broader community, however, there is always room for improvement of on and off-road routes.
The Guelph Coalition for Active Transportation held their second annual Open Meeting on Oct. 14. The goal of this grassroots coalition is generally to increase the quality, quantity, and safety of active transportation in Guelph through partnership with residents, businesses, and the City of Guelph.
Active transportation refers to anything non-motorized, including cycling, walking, inline skating, etc. As one of several groups working with the City of Guelph, GCAT has advocated for more active transportation infrastructure throughout the city, including bike lanes, biking and walking paths, sidewalks, and bridges. Over the past two and a half years, GCAT has hosted and promoted a variety of events to draw members of the Guelph community out to participate in the discussion of active transportation.
These events include the Magnolia Ride, co-sponsored with the Guelph Hiking Club, three separate movie nights in collaboration with Planet Bean and the Bookshelf, and the Santa Claus Parade. The organization aims for slow-paced events, according to President Yvette Tendick. “At these events, conversation means more than miles,” she said at Wednesday’s Open Meeting.
As part of this conversation, GCAT urges students and members of the community to advocate for cycling and active transportation. “The City and all these other groups think that cyclists are a very small minority because we don’t speak up,” explained Tendick. “Without advocacy, we won’t get the support and the resources we need.”
In 2013, the City of Guelph announced a Cycling Master Plan for a bicycle-friendly Guelph. With 22 recommended objectives, the plan considered physical and social infrastructure needs, including engineering efforts such as bike lanes and education and encouragement initiatives for active transportation users.
In early 2015, the City began working on two projects: the Active Transportation Network Study and the Sidewalk Needs Assessment Study. “These two studies really work in tandem; we can’t have one without the other,” explains Justin Hall, the Transportation Demand Management Coordinator at the City of Guelph. “The goal is to create a better connected system of transportation throughout the city, a network of on-road and off-road routes.”
The Active Transportation Network Study takes residents’ input into off-road trails and sidewalks to determine priority areas for development of these resources. The Sidewalk Needs Assessment Study addresses the needs of pedestrians exclusively, allowing the City to identify gaps in the community and prioritize development of routes to service the most people. Both studies are being completed in cooperation with consulting groups MMM Group Ltd. and Paradigm Transportation Solutions Ltd.
“There are actually some gaps that have been identified on Stone Road [where] students may have to cross the street or otherwise avoid. We’re trying to come up with an off-road transportation network that provides an alternative route that is interesting, naturalized and safer,” says Hall.
The University of Guelph produces the highest rate of active transportation users, according to Hall. “[The campus] is uniquely accessible for active transportation to begin with, and the demographics just fit with the typical active transportation user.” As many students do not have access to their own cars for driving to school, biking and walking are popular forms of alternative transportation.
Hall adds, “The off-road transportation network that we’re trying to develop and establish wouldn’t just be for transportation. There are benefits for recreational users, so if university students want to go for a walk or a run or take their bike out, they have a space to do that.”
According to the minutes from the Guelph City Council meeting in February 2015, the council and members of the community, including Tendick, discussed returning $300,000 in active transportation funding to the 2015 capital budget. Council clarified that the addition of this funding would not bring about active transportation infrastructure in 2015 because of the total project cost of $900,000 that has yet to be funded over multiple years.
However, in the same meeting, Council identified their intention to fund the Woodlawn Road active transportation corridor in the 2015 capital budget, allocating $600,000 in funding. GCAT counts the Woodlawn Corridor development among the biggest active transportation successes of 2015.
Cyclists have indicated the importance of having off-road spaces protected from drivers and general hazards of the roadway. Tendick expressed that one of the obstacles to active transportation is that cyclists don’t feel comfortable sharing the road with cars and buses.
Hall encourages cyclists and other active transportation users to speak up and attend meetings and events to advocate for infrastructure. “It brings inspiration and drive to the work we’re doing,” he said, addressing the group gathered at Wednesday’s meeting. “We do our best to serve our residents in the City of Guelph.”
Hall encourages students and members of the community to come out to the Guelph Farmer’s Market on Oct. 31. From 7 a.m. to 12 p.m., the City will have a booth set up to showcase preliminary results of the ongoing active transportation studies, making them available for a second round of public consultation sessions. These results will also be available online and at City Hall following the market.
“We want to bring these results back to the community and ask, is this the best route for the community, where can we make better connections?” says Hall. Engagement from cyclists in the community will help the City to plan ideal routes and connections based on public feedback.