Whereas the Province of BC as part of Clean BC has developed an Active Transportation Strategy under the leadership of the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure to improve active transportation networks that connect British Columbians from the places they live to the facilities they use; And whereas BC Healthy Communities provides funding to local governments to develop local Active Transportation Plans supported by the BC Physical Activity Strategy; And whereas the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure constructs highway improvements that connect to and integrate with local government infrastructure and residential developments in communities: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM ask the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure to include the construction of Active Transportation infrastructure such as safe, separate walking pathways, bicycle lanes, and safe connections to existing and future trail network infrastructure, into highway upgrade projects adjacent to populated areas.
Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure will continue making investments in active transportation through our made-in-BC strategy for cleaner, more active transportation, Move.Commute.Connect. In 201920, the ministry invested over 45M toward projects that support active transportation through municipal infrastructure grants, highways projects such as shoulder widening, and improving transit infrastructure to better support active transportation. The ministry is investing in active transportation improvements as part of current and future provincial highway improvement projects to ensure that roads, bridges and interchanges are designed and built with the safety and convenience of people walking, cycling and wheeling in mind. The ministry continues to work with communities to identify priority active transportation projects. These projects can be part of new or rehabilitation highway projects or funded through programs like the Community Safety Enhancement Program. For the 2020-21 fiscal year of the Active Transportation Infrastructure Grants Program, nearly 9-million dollars of investment for communities was committed to build stronger active transportation networks. Through Move.Commute.Connect., the ministry is also committed to updating the cycling policy to become an active transportation policy, to further support the inclusion of active transportation in highways and infrastructure projects and supporting municipal planning to connect local active transportation infrastructure to provincial infrastructure