THUNDER BAY -- The city is becoming a role model for other communities when it comes to creating a safer cycling environment.
Community Cycling Education Programs: The Toolkit is a new document that gives communities instructions and examples on how to start its own safe cycling programs.
The toolkit is the first of its kind and was developed by EcoSuperior with partnerships from the Thunder Bay District Health Unit and the city of Thunder Bay. The Ontario Trillium Foundation also provided funding for the toolkit.
“It’s been a goal of ours for the past four years to produce some sort of document,” said Adam Krupper, active transportation co-ordinator for the city of Thunder Bay.
“There’s been some pressure to learn and to work and to document what we’ve learned are the best practices."
Things such as giving bike racks to local businesses and the recently introduced bike repair station are a few examples of ways for cyclists to feel more safe on the road.
Krupper hopes to incorporate bike safety into the schools as a possible form of education for younger people.
Krupper said he believes in time Thunder Bay can have a cycling community similar to cities like Vancouver or Portland.
These cities set the standard for the way that a cycling community can exist.
“It won’t necessarily be with infrastructure but with attitude and knowledge and how people behave on the road”.
The toolkit was unveiled at the Thunder Bay District Health Unit on May 2.
