Collingwood Receives Silver Bicycle Friendly Community Award

Announced earlier today by Share the Road Cycling Coalition (STR) and its partner the Canadian Automobile Association, The Town of Collingwood is pleased to receive the Silver Bicycle Friendly Community Award.

Collingwood was awarded the Bronze level award in 2017, and has made significant improvements to encourage cycling in the community including since that time: 
•    Transforming the Trails Advisory Committee to a Trails and Active Transportation Committee, to ensure the needs of cyclists are met. 
•    Launching an Active Transportation Plan and Cycling Plan.
•    Completed connections between the north-south trail corridor to the east-west cycling corridor through Town.
•    Bicycle education, including on-bike programming, and School Travel Planning projects in four schools.
•    Diverse community engagement strategies reaching various population groups, ages and abilities.

“It is truly a team effort that has brought cycling and active transportation to the forefront of all Town activities.  Our extensive network started as small sections of trails that grew because of increased use and public demand. Connections to active transportation routes have resulted in residential developments that promote their connections to the trails and safe routes to school.,” says Wendy Martin, Manager, Parks.  “Our ultimate goal is to make cycling and active transportation everyone’s first choice when leaving the house, and make hopping into a vehicle, secondary”.

STR’s Feedback Report to Collingwood highlighted scenic and extensive off-road trail system that attracts both locals and tourists and highly engaged Trails and Active Transportation Committee with formalized partnerships with Parks and Recreation, Engineering, and Public Works, as community strengths. Further, the School Travel Planning committee with representation from a variety of key stakeholders, including public health, school administration, municipal staff, enforcement, and environmental groups was also recognized.

“This recognition reinforces Council’s ambition and our community’s desire to work proactively to promote active transportation that is safe and accessible. We can do more and will now set our sights on reaching the Gold standard,” says Mayor Saunderson.
 

About the Bicycle Friendly Communities Program 
The Bicycle Friendly Communities (BFC) program, an initiative of the League of American Bicyclists, was launched in Canada by Share the Road Cycling Coalition in 2010. The program provides guidance, inspiration and award-recognition for communities that actively support bicycling. Municipalities are judged in four categories referred to as the four “E’s”: Engineering, Education, Encouragement, and Evaluation & Planning. A community must demonstrate achievements in all four categories to be considered for an award. The award categories are: Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum and Diamond.

About Collingwood 
The Town of Collingwood is a progressive community located in the heart of a four-season recreation area on the southern shore of Georgian Bay. The area is well known for its many natural amenities and its rich heritage. Collingwood is a destination for tourism and many business, sporting, and cultural events Collingwood acts as gateway to the South Georgian Bay region, with stunning landscapes that encourage an active lifestyle, and inspire the local arts and culture community.  Downtown Collingwood might just surprise you with 30 plus restaurants, 60 plus boutique shops, spas for relaxing, live music for grooving…all in the only downtown core recognized in Canada’s Registrar of Historic Places!  More recently, the harbourfront area is emerging as an extension to the downtown district.  Plans for expanding the amenities and events in the harbourfront area promise to make this a much more prominent tourism destination. 
  
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For more information, contact:

Manager, Public Relations & Communications
Christa Carter
T. 705-445-1030 Ext. 3274
ccarter@collingwood.ca

Manager, Parks 
Wendy Martin
T. 705-444-2500 Ext. 3290
wmartin@collingwood.ca