Urgent: Contact Council by Tuesday Against Proposed Bylaw to Close Bike Lanes in Winter
Contact Council Against the Proposed Bylaw before the 9 am meeting on Dec. 16th!
At the Tuesday, Dec. 16th Council Meeting, a proposed bylaw is coming before Council for a vote that would close on-road cycling infrastructure for five months of the year, from Nov. 15th to April 15th.
We ask you to send a strong message to the Mayor and City Council urging them to vote No on this proposed bylaw.
Adding a personal message on how this bylaw would affect you is very powerful!
Additional points you can include in your message:
• Cycling is a year round, all weather mode of transportation!
• Safety and Vision Zero: forcing those who cycle to have less options and less safe options, increasing the risks of collisions, and going back on Guelph’s Vision Zero commitment
• Equity: Many rely on cycling infrastructure year round, including kids biking to school, people using mobility devices, elders e-biking to appointments, and others to get to work
• Affordability: pushing more people to buy and maintain vehicles in an affordability crisis
• Environmental Impacts: pushing people to take more trips by vehicle, leading to more emissions, worsening traffic and congestion on our streets, counter to our climate goals
• Contrary to Our Vision for Our City: Guelph has committed to many planning documents, such as the Transportation Master Plan, that call for increasing the modal share of cycling in our city
• Other downstream effects, such as the several feet of extra snow pileup at the end of driveways, less space on the road for emergency vehicles to pass, more difficult garbage pickup, storm water blockages
See also the City’s announcement about ending winter bike lane maintenance.
Contact Your Councillors Directly
Personal direct outreach to your ward councillors makes a big difference. (Find your ward here.) Please take a moment to call or email them to share your concerns.
Mayor and Council Contact Information:
• Mayor Cam Guthrie – 519-837-5643 mayor@guelph.ca
• Ward 1: Erin Caton – 226-821-3200 erin.caton@guelph.ca
Dan Gibson – 519-827-6407 dan.gibson@guelph.ca
• Ward 2: Rodrigo Goller – 226-821-1146 rodrigo.goller@guelph.ca
Carly Klassen – 226-332-1673 carly.klassen@guelph.ca
• Ward 3: Phil Allt – 519-827-6579 phil.allt@guelph.ca
Michele Richardson – 226-332-4513 michele.richardson@guelph.ca
• Ward 4: Christine Billings – 519-826-0567 christine.billings@guelph.ca
Linda Busuttil – linda.busuttil@guelph.ca
• Ward 5: Leanne Caron – leanne.caron@guelph.ca
Cathy Downer – 519-827-8390 cathy.downer@guelph.ca
• Ward 6: Ken Yee Chew – 226-332-5406 ken.chew@guelph.ca
Katherine Hauser – katherine.hauser@guelph.ca
Protest Ride on Dec. 15th, Downtown
Organized by a Collaboration of Concerned Citizens
Ride together to show cycling in Guelph is NOT seasonal!
Heart in front of Quebec St. Mall
Meet 5:40 pm / Ride 6 pm
For any updates or changes due to weather, check the event on instagram.
Join Us!
If you aren’t a member already, the first next step is to become a member! There are options to join for $0 and up. Being a member shows that there is a group of people behind GCAT advocating for more and better active transportation options in Guelph.
Already a Member?
We invite you to take the next step and volunteer with GCAT. Whether you have an hour a week or a few hours a month, we have opportunities for every skill and passion.
Again, thank you for all your support for GCAT!
