New active transportation plan underway

Saskatchewan in motion is currently working on a new action plan that will guide the next phase of active transportation in the city of Yorkton.

On March 22, representatives of in motion, the city, the RCMP, the Sunrise Health Region, Yorkton schools, and local service clubs met at the Gallagher Centre to discuss options for promoting active living in Yorkton.

The meeting was the start of a second phase in the city's active transportation plan, building on the success of an 11-point action plan developed at a similar series of workshops in 2006.

That plan eventually led to the creation of walking trails, bicycle lanes, new sidewalks, and a sidewalk snow-clearing program for the city. It generated lasting changes in the municipal government's planning mindset, said Lisa Washington, Yorkton's community development manager; features such as walking routes are now a priority in new subdivisions rather than "an afterthought."

Michael Haynes, a consultant brought in to assist with the original active transportation plan in 2006 and again to oversee the March meeting, is impressed with the changes to Yorkton over the last six years.

"[I've worked with] about 70 different communities, and there are about half a dozen who I hear about and keep track of and really look at as successful," he said. "Yorkton is certainly near the top of the list in terms of the ones that have integrated the message and seem to be succeeding and making progress."

Haynes facilitated the discussion at the March 22 meeting and led a presentation to the public the previous evening. At those meetings, participants brought forward their thoughts on how to further improve options for Yorkton's walkers, skaters, and cyclists.

Suggestions included more education for drivers and cyclists, improved signage on bike lanes, and new design standards for sidewalks in residential subdivisions.

Saskatchewan in motion is now combing through the data gathered from participants and developing it into a new 10-point action plan for the city. That plan should be ready by mid-April, at which time stakeholders will meet again to determine how to proceed.

Active transportation should be a priority for all the residents of a city, argued Haynes, because most people are drivers, walkers, cyclists, and more at various times.

"It is more than just healthy and active living. It's the idea of looking at a community as an integrated place to live, and that all these forms of transportation-walking, automobiles, transit, bicycles-they need to be connected, and they need to be seamless, and they need to be integrated."