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Ontario funding to make cycling safer & more convenient

cycling | TimothyJ on Foter.com  -  CC BY
cycling | TimothyJ on Foter.com - CC BY

Oakville’s active transportation network received a huge boost last week as the Provincial government announced $645,376 in funding to help the town improve its bike lanes and cycling infrastructure.

Across Ontario, 120 municipalities will receive funding from the province for new bike lanes and other cycling infrastructure. Total program funding is $93 million, an increase from the $42.5 million announced earlier this year. This investment is part of Ontario's Climate Change Action Plan and is funded by proceeds from the province's cap on pollution and carbon market. The funding can be used to cover up to 80 per cent of eligible project costs.

The town will use the funding to increase or improve existing on-road bike lanes, multi-use trails, signed routes, and sharrows (cycle lane markings). A list of the projects and locations will be presented to Council for consideration early in the new year.

This year, following extensive public consultation, the town updated its Active Transportation Master Plan to improve and expand its active transportation network, and promote cycling and walking in Oakville. The town currently has more than 200 kilometres of on- and off-road bike lanes and multi-use trails.

According to 2016 World Council on City Data (WCCD) rankings, Oakville places 8th out of 43 cities for the number of bicycle paths per capita, ahead of Toronto (ranked 23rd) and European cities such as Amsterdam (ranked 13th) and The Hague (ranked 12th).

Learn more about the Active Transportation Master Plan and cycling in Oakville at oakville.ca.

To learn more about the Ontario Municipal Commuter Cycling Program visit news.ontario.ca.


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