Local NDP members want increased funding for bike lanes and trails

By: Larry Kusch

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/Local-NDP-members-want-increas...

Manitoba New Democrats want the province to step up funding for bicycle lanes and trails to promote a healthier population and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

As their three-day convention wound up on Sunday, party members passed a comprehensive active transportation policy that would assure long-term funding to municipalities. The policy would also ensure that a dedicated percentage of future road building costs be earmarked for active transportation.

Mark Cohoe, a delegate from Fort Garry-Riverview constituency, noted that while the government is spending $586 million on roads this year, it’s devoting less money to active transportation than it did last year because of the expiration of some programs that have not been renewed.

Cohoe, who sat on a provincial active transportation advisory group last year that produced more than 20 recommendations, said more people would ride their bikes if they felt they could do it safely hence the need for a greater investment in bike lanes.

He noted that traffic counts at Winnipeg’s Maryland Bridge, which has relatively generous bike lanes, show an 11 per cent year-over-year increase in cycling traffic.

"If you build it, they do come," he told delegates.

The party policy adopted today encourages the government to work with school divisions to introduce a comprehensive multi-year cycling skills curriculum for school-aged children.

The policy also calls for the establishment of a provincial director or commissioner of active transportation.

The motion, which is not binding on the government, is one of dozens passed at the NDP’s three-day convention, which featured an address Saturday by federal leader Thomas Mulcair.

A highly anticipated resolution recommending that the provincial sales tax be raised by one percentage point and the proceeds used to repair municipal infrastructure was deferred.

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca