CYCLE CHATHAM-KENT
BICYCLE CLUB

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Chatham-Kent Transportation Master Plan Project

          The municipality of Chatham-Kent has begun a project to create a Transportation Master Plan (TMP) which will guide the development of transportation infrastructure and transit services both short-term and long-term.

          Many municipal Transportation Master Plans have, in recent years, included a Bicycle Use Master Plan (BUMP) with specific action plans and budget commitments for the development of cycling-supportive infrastructure and programs. These can include safe bikeways (wide curb lanes, bike lanes, or bike paths, and cycle-friendly traffic signals), improved destination facilities (bike racks, lockers, showers and change rooms for commuters), cycling skills training, bike theft prevention programs, etc.

These plans are usually shaped by a Cycling Advisory Committee to make sure that they address the real needs of cyclists.

          Provision for “Active Transportation” (walking and cycling) is referred to in the Transportation Master Plan study’s terms of reference, but there is not as yet a commitment to creating a Cycling Advisory Committee, or other definite signs that the TMP will fully address cycling issues.

          Cycle Chatham-Kent Bicycle Club has made representations by email to the Mayor, several members of Council, the Chief Administrative Officer, the Planning Engineer in charge of the project, and the consulting firm contracted for the project. We have urged the involvement of the many stakeholders with interests in cycling, and are keeping in touch with many of those stakeholders in this connection.
          Paul Gardiner, President pro tem of Cycle Chatham-Kent, attended a December 6 Transportation Master Plan Stakeholders Meeting on behalf of the club, and will represent us at a similar meeting in January. Watch for the minutes of these meetings published on the municipal website.

          Let the councilors who represent your ward, and the mayor, know that you want a cycling-friendly community and that you want specific plans in that direction incorporated in the Transportation Master Plan.