Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps wants the federal government to enact a national cycling strategy to guide all levels of government in improving conditions for cyclists.
A national cycling strategy would typically be developed by a federal agency such as Transport Canada, Helps said.
“The gist of it is that the federal government is going to be spending billions of dollars in infrastructure investment across the country in the next 10 to 15 years,” Helps said. “With small investments in cycling infrastructure and pedestrian infrastructure, you can move a heck of a lot of people.”
Helps is seeking support from city council to ask the Federation of Canadian Municipalities to advocate for such a strategy.
“With the right infrastructure and programming support, cycling can occur anywhere and in any weather,” Helps says in a motion going to councillors this week. “If a national cycling strategy, which can include walking and other active modes of transportation, is not specifically identified and implemented, experience has shown that cycling falls through the policy and funding cracks and remains neglected,” it says.
