New chair Kieran McKenzie says theres an unprecedented opportunity to advance cycling infrastructure in the city
There's renewed optimism amongst Windsor's new bicycling committee.
The 10 member group held its first meeting of the new council term Wednesday night selecting councillor Kieran McKenzie as it's the new board chair.
McKenzie says, with the support of the new council, the committee has an unprecedented opportunity to advance and improve cycling infrastructure throughout the city.
"We have a lot of people at this table who are passionate about active transportation in the community. They understand that there's an outcry in the community for these types of investments to move forward and it's becoming an increasingly important part of all of our processes that we see happening at city hall."
He says there's a new importance being put on active transportation.
"These folks are excited and I think it's a reflection of what we see across the community. The advocacy around the importance of active transportation has been progressing, but it's been a slow roll. Right now I think, and a lot of folks in the community are feeling, that we're in, perhaps, the beginning of a new era."
Windsor Bicycling Committee chair Kieran McKenzie at a meeting on May 8, 2019 (Photo by AM800's Zander Broeckel)
McKenzie says active transportation is now being seen as an investment rather than a cost.
"More people are using bikes rather than driving from one destination to another. This committee understands that, they understand that they have a council that's probably unprecedentedly sympathetic and understands these issues very well and I think all of us are excited for the opportunities that we see in front of us."
The committee has a busy couple of months coming up.
It's Bike to Work 2019 event is set to go May 27 — that's followed by Bike to Fireworks planned for the evening of the Ford Fireworks on June 24.
More information about the committee can be found at www.citywindsor.ca.