Greetings! I am writing to…

Greetings! I am writing to request that the proposed Ontario cycling route come through the communities of Mississippi Mills and Carleton Place. As a long-time resident and business owner in the area, I have already seen tremendous advantages from some of the existing bicycle-related activities and infrastructure here, and I believe that the support of the province would be of great help in developing them further. Personally, I have become a more active cyclist because of the advocacy and outreach of Mississippi Mills Bicycle Month, and I am delighted that our community was awarded Bicycle-Friendly Community status by the Share the Road Cycling Coalition in 2016. I appreciate the bike lanes in and around Almonte, and I would love to see the Rail Trail be developed into a bike route so that I can commute from Almonte to Carleton Place safely by active transportation, rather than by car. This would also link more of Mississippi Mills with the existing non-motorized Trans Canada Trail from Carleton Place and on to Ottawa. As a business owner, I believe that my business and many others have benefitted and will accrue further benefit from increased cycling traffic to and between the communities of Carleton Place and Mississippi Mills. This area already boasts the amenities cycle tourists require, such as restaurants, accommodations, a bicycle shop, grocery shopping, as well as vibrant downtown centres, historic sites and museums. Both Carleton Place and Almonte also have hospitals and health clinics, as well as an awareness of the importance of active transportation to their residents. Later this month, Carleton Place will host the fourth annual Eastern Ontario Active Transportation Summit (an initiative that began in Mississippi Mills), and is developing an Active Transportation Plan, as did Mississippi Mills. For all of these and many more reasons, I believe that this area is worthy of the province’s support in becoming part of an Ontario-wide cycling route.

Sincerely,

Kris Riendeau

[Original Comment ID: 209317]