So many June Bike Month Events to choose from!
Listed below are the events hosted or co-hosted by Guelph Coalition for Active Transportation!
June 16, 1-3pm “Trees, Bikes and a Pint: A tribute to Henry Kock
June 19 6pm-9pm “Why We Cycle” movie and discussion
June 23 9:30 am, “Love Your Bike” Festival
And of course, don’t forget the culminating event, the Tour de Guelph on June 24!
So many different events for so many different bike styles!
For a full listing of events, click here!
There are more bicycles than people in the Netherlands. More than 25% of all trips are by bike. In some cities this adds up to over 60%. But do the Dutch ever think or talk about this? Not much. This may be part of the success of Dutch cycling: it is self-evident. But what if we would talk about the self-evident?
In this movie regular cyclists and regular scientists from all walks of life paint a picture of Dutch cycling culture. We learn that cycling leads to happiness, health, keeping up cognitive functions and creativity and a state of readiness. Cycling also leads to happy children who enjoy the autonomy of independent travel. Because cyclists are open to their surroundings and each other, city life tends to be more open. Trust among people grows as they interact through cycling.
Join this free event hosted by the City of Guelph to experience the world of cycling in the Netherlands and challenge conceptions of City life, social interaction and every day travel.
When: June 16, 1-3pm
2Rivers Festival and Guelph Coalition for Active Transportation team up to offer 10km tribute ride to the late Henry Kock, Guelph’s beloved horticulturalist, to celebrate his passion for trees, river systems, bikes and local beer. Enjoy stops along the way with University of Guelph arborist Sean Fox to discover some of Guelph’s magnificent trees. This is a family friendly ride on gravel trails and quiet streets. Mountain/hybrid bikes and helmets are encouraged.
Note: We will meet at the intersection of Florence Lane and Lawrence Avenue. The trip ends up at the Royal City Brewery where we reflect on the experience and slacken our thirst.
Please RSVP at https://www.2riversfestival.org/20event_trees_bikes_a_pint_a_tribute_ride_to_the_late_henry_kock
For more information, contact info@gcat.ca
June 23, starting at 9:30 am, Front lawn of St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, 161 Norfolk St.!
Come out for the fifth annual “Love Your Bike Festival!” This festival includes the young and old in celebrating Guelph’s favourite mode of transportation – The Bike!
Give your bike some love! Three of Guelph’s cycling shops (Backpeddling, Paramount Sports and Speed River Bicycle) will be on hand to offer free mechanical checks in preparation for the Tour de Guelph which rolls out the following day.
Here are some of the highlights:
For more info, contact info@gcat.ca
For information about more June Bike Month events, including those co-hosted by GCAT, click here.
Jordan and Yvette from Guelph Coalition for Active Transportation recently attended Share the Road‘s 2018 Ontario Bike Summit. Here is a short recap of what we attended with some links worth checking out!
Bicycle Friendly Community Awards
Our neighbours in Waterloo were awarded the “Gold” Bicycle Friendly Communities designation Way to go, Waterloo! (They’ve surpassed us. Guelph is at the “Silver” level.)
Keynote Address: Dale Bracewell, Manager of Transportation Planning – City of Vancouver
Some impressive success stories and challenges from Vancouver who are at the forefront of urban transportation planning
http://vancouver.ca/streets-transportation/walk-bike-and-transit.aspx
Some highlights:
Keynote Conversation: Ontario Minister of Transportation Kathryn McGarry
http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/publications/pdfs/cycle-action-plan.pdf
State of Cycling Presentation by Share the Road CEO, Jamie Stuckless
New polling data collected by Nanos on behalf of Share the Road was presented. This is good stuff for presenting to local decision makers as it shows that there is majority support for investments in cycling infrastructure.
http://www.sharetheroad.ca/opinion-poll-data-s17022 (includes additional link to full Nanos results)
Finding the Right Metrics for Your Project Session – Behind the Scenes of North America’s Most Extensively Studied Bike Lane
This was about Toronto’s Bloor St. Protected Bike Lane Pilot Project. There were a HUGE amount of contributors to this from cycling advocacy, BIA’s, resident associations, Toronto city hall, researchers, consultants, doctors/health advocates.
Photo credit to http://news.engineering.utoronto.ca
Final report to Council
https://www.toronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/8ef6-cycling-bloor-backgroundfile-107582.pdf
Highlights from the data collection for Bloor St. Protected bike lane project:
Other advocacy/community organizations that contributed to this (a few out of many):
These lanes have now been made permanent.
Community Inspiration Session
This was a “20×20” session where presenters had 20 slides and 20 seconds for each slide to present their inspirational projects.
BikeOttawa is doing INCREDIBLE bike network mapping
The Halifax Cycling Coalition developed a crowdsourcing app called Cycle snApp to capture geo-tagged citizen feedback on anything cycling-related
https://cyclehalifax.ca/learn/snapp/
The Toronto Bicycle Music Festival is a bicycle-powered mobile music festival that’s been taking place since 2010. Their message: “Just add bikes” to your event.
http://torontobicyclemusicfestival.com/
Hope this gives you a good summary of the Ontario Bike Summit!
When: March 23, 2018 , 11:30-12;30
Where: University Centre, University of Guelph, room 335
Can the bike save your city and you?
We’ll discuss how biking makes a city more liveable, and you happier. We’ll inspire you to see how biking is such an important mode of transportation in making a city, and your life more resilient. We’ll also provide you the support to get you started and to keep you going.
Yvette Tendick is president of Guelph Coalition for Active Transportation, a local advocacy group whose mission is to increase the amount of people who are comfortable and safe walking and riding bikes around the city.
Mikayla Fedele is a bike enthusiast with long distance touring experience. She is a volunteer at the CSA bike centre; a do-it-yourself bike co-op located on the U of G campus.
Get inspired to ride your bike this Spring!
This event will have no cost & will provide a selection of treats & beverages!
Hello all!
I am graduate student at the University of Guelph in the Capacity Development and Extension program. I have an assignment for one of my courses that requires me to work in collaboration with a community organization and develop a media product that addresses an issue in the Guelph community.
A few weekends ago I was at the Farmer’s Market representing 10C (a local co-working space) and sharing a table with Guelph Coalition for Active Transportation as the volunteers were promoting GCAT’s AGM and collecting annual memberships. After hearing the GCAT’s member’s comments about cycling in Guelph and the concerns around bike safety, I thought it would impactful to put together a documentary that can be presented to the City of Guelph to raise attention of the cycling community’s needs and narratives.
I would really appreciate it you took five minutes next weekend (February 17, 2018) at the Farmer’s Market to sit down and have a conversation with me. I will be videoing and recording these interviews, if you have any comments or concerns please do not hesitate to email me and we can figure out other ways that you can participate! My email is asmart01@uoguelph.ca.
Thank you for considering this,
Sacha Smart
University of Guelph Masters Student,
Capacity Development and Extension
You will hear about the accomplishments and goals of GCAT to make Guelph one of the best places in Ontario for cycling and walking. Our guest speaker will be Benita Van Miltenburg, Transportation Demand Management Coordinator from the City of Guelph. Her topic is “Lessons from Amsterdam…. and Hamilton!”
Benita entered the field of sustainable transportation thanks to a passion for population and environmental health, and a love of recreational and utilitarian cycling. She worked as project manager for Cycle Hamilton, and volunteered as Chair of the Advocacy and Communications Committee.
In conjunction with her graduate degree, Benita attended the University of Amsterdam’s Planning the Cycling City course, and will be speaking about her experience.
Come out and get inspired!
Location: Red Papaya
Time: 7-8 pm for AGM*, 8-10 pm for after party. Come to one or both!
Free apps and great door prizes!!!! (Thank you Guelph Solar and other sponsors!)
*We are actively taking memberships, online, at the Guelph Farmer’s Market on Jan. 27 and Feb. 17, as well as at the AGM. Please see gcat.ca for more details. All members of the public are invited to the AGM but only GCAT members can vote.