Jump Starting the Cycling Master Plan

The photos above show bicycles at Silver Creek Public School and the new bike lanes on Danby Road in Georgetown South. You will find a similar new bike lane on Delrex Blvd. These are the first signs that Halton Hills is about to take cycling safety more seriously and comes as a result of the Cycling Master Plan which is being released for public comment today.

There is a report on our council agenda for Monday June 14th that authorizes staff to host a Public Information Centre on the Cycling Master Plan to be held on Tuesday June 29th from 6:00pm to 8:30pm at the Civic Centre, 1 Halton Hills Drive, Georgetown.

Public input is important as it allows council to see what the public reaction and support is for the plan. All changes to our roads require financial resources and if the public is either against it or complacent then progress will be slow. On the other hand if the public is enthusiastic and demands action then budget dollars usually follow.

The main thrust of the plan is to make cycling safer. Surveys show that many people would like to ride bikes but they believe that it is not safe enough. Making our roads safer is the most effective thing we can do to get more people cycling, especially children riding to school instead of being driven everyday.

The photo of the kids' bikes above shows that some kids do ride to school right now. However, if safety is improved this number could easily double or triple. Think of how much less gas would be burned if this happened at every school in the town.

You can review the draft Master Plan by going to the Town's website www.haltonhills.ca and find it on the home page.
Comments can also be left here.