To the Ministry of…

To the Ministry of Transportation,

ClimateActionWR is a collaboration between local organizations and community members who championed the development of Waterloo Region’s first-ever community action plan on climate change. ClimateActionWR supports the implementation of the Climate Action Plan for Waterloo Region in an effort to achieve a community-wide greenhouse gas reduction target of 6% by 2020. In May of 2017, ClimateActionWR released a report entitled Our Progress, Our Path. The report revealed that Waterloo Region has taken substantial steps towards its short-term greenhouse gas reduction target, with the region achieving a 5.2% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions between 2010 and 2015.

Despite this progress, the report also highlights a growing concern for Waterloo Region. Transportation emissions grew at a rate of 5% between 2010 and 2015, and now make up 49% of the region’s greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, vehicle ownership in Waterloo Region grew at twice the rate of population growth. These findings highlight that we must continue to work to provide low-carbon transportation options in Waterloo Region.

Consequently, we are pleased to see the proposed CycleON: Action Plan 2.0, to support implementation of CycleON. In particular, we applaud: efforts to include active transportation in station access plans; services to promote active and safe routes to school; investment in new cycling infrastructure for commuting, active living and recreational purposes; working with municipalities to update Ontario Traffic Manual Book 18; and work to monitor and track progress on attitudinal and behavioral changes towards cycling.

We wish to thank you for your leadership, and look forward to continued progress on making active transportation more reliable, safe, and comfortable in the coming decades.

Sincerely,

Transportation Sector Committee

ClimateActionWR

[Original Comment ID: 213517]