|
|
|
|
|
CANADA WALKS NEWS
August 2016
|
|
|
|
CANADA WALKS NEWS is published by Canada Walks, a department of Green Communities Canada. Got news about walking and walkability? Let us know ... Subscribe, and share with a friend. See our websites:
|
|
|
|
TWO REPORTS on the feasibility of implementing School Travel Planning (STP) at the school board level are now available on Green Communities Canada’s Active and Safe Routes to School (ASRTS) website.
Three district school boards, 15 schools, and more than 8,000 students participated in the study, providing a detailed understanding of the challenges faced by community stakeholders and an analysis of the benefits and costs of STP delivery.
GCC received funding from the Ontario Ministry of Education and support from local school boards, transportation consortia, and municipal stakeholders to complete this research. The feasibility study was conducted in two different regions of the province (Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph and the City of Toronto) to compare urban, suburban and rural community settings.
View the reports on the ASRTS website by clicking here, or use these direct links:
School Travel Planning in the City of Toronto & Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Final Report
School Travel Planning Benefit-Cost Report for Toronto & Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph
|
|
|
IT’S TIME to gear up for International Walk to School Month (IWALK). The celebration takes place in October, and includes IWALK Week, 3-7 October, and International Walk to School Day, Wednesday 5 October.
We are putting together resources to help you walk or wheel to school during October and for the whole year. Materials will be available soon and will be posted on our Active and Safe Routes to School website. Contact ASRTS Senior Program Manager Kate Berry, kberry@greencommunitiescanda.org, for more information and to order materials.
|
|
|
|
THE PRELIMINARY program for Walk21 Hong Kong, 3-7 October, is now available and outlines a week of inspiring activities and discussions to promote walking and livable communities. The first Walk 21 conference to be held in Asia will focus on how pedestrian-first environments promote economic growth, social inclusion and general health.
|
|
|
STUDENT TRANSPORTATION Services of Waterloo Region is hiring a full-time School Travel Planner. Competition closes 12 August. View the full job description here.
|
|
|
WHITEHORSE WALKING enthusiast Peter Long tells a fascinating story in Forgotten Trails, Walking the Hepburn Tramway. It’s an illustrated story of the tramway, Miles Canyon, and the Miles Canyon Road from 1897 to today. Download a copy of the publication to learn more about one of Canada’s most incredible walking opportunities and what’s being done to preserve and promote it.
|
|
|
|
THE ACTIVE and Safe Routes to School Steering Committee, Hamilton, ON received the Community in Motion Award 2015 for Advocate of the Year. The award recognizes residents and organizations in Hamilton that actively support and promote healthy and sustainable forms of transportation such as walking, cycling, and public transit. Congratulations!
|
|
|
SINCE THE release of Pokémon Go, fitness apps are showing an increase in step counts and overall fitness levels. The game has also sparked the formation of Pokémon Go walking groups.
|
|
|
THE JANE 100 project is curating a year-long calendar of community events to celebrate the legacy of activist Jane Jacobs. Toronto, ON organizations are invited to reserve a spot in the calendar to promote events taking place between now and May 2017 that advance ideas about cities and economies. Simply add your event here, or have a look at the fantastic events that have already signed on.
|
|
|
THE FILM Ways To Go explores the possibilities and challenges of building livable communities that promote walking, biking, and transit. It features interviews with prominent figures in transportation and livable streets. Watch the trailer here.
|
|
|
AUTHOR ERIC Weiner studied geniuses and found a common thread: walking. Aristotle founded the Peripatetic School of Philosophy which was walking and talking; Socrates was a huge walker, as was Charles Dickens; Mark Twain paced; and recent research from Stanford University found that people who walked on a treadmill for as little as 15 or 20 minutes had more creative ideas than those who were sedentary. Read the full transcript of Anna Marie Tremonti’s interview with Weiner from the 4 July edition of CBC’s The Current.
|
|
|
OUTDATED MUNICIPAL parking requirements are making neighbourhoods less affordable. A Chicago study pegs the cost of an indoor, underground parking spot at $37,300, and found that typically one-third of all parking spots in apartment buildings sit empty. Unused parking spots are driving up rental prices, and wasting space and money that could be used for more affordable housing and amenities that anchor walkable communities.
|
|
|
THE BEST way to reduce your carbon footprint is to live in a walkable neighbourhood. In addition to reducing your energy consumption, it can also result in significant savings on home energy and transportation costs.
|
|
|
CANADA WALKS NEWS profiles actions to help create communities where walking is safe, easy, enjoyable, and inviting. Donate to the Green Communities Foundation to provide vital support for this work. Just click on the DONATE button and indicate in the comments section that you'd like your gift to go to the work of Canada Walks.
|
|
|
SIGN UP for the IWALK/IWHEEL Club, a great way to encourage students and families to leave the car at home and walk or cycle to school all year long. Students receive their own “club card” to track their active travel trips throughout the year and classes can engage in friendly competition. Register and receive iwalk-iwheel waterless tattoos to use as student incentives.
|
|
|
|
If you have story ideas or walking news you'd like to share, please send to us at info@canadawalks.ca. Be sure to include your contact details.
|
|
CANADA WALKS offers a variety of customized services, including webinars, half- and full-day on-site workshops, and intensive community visits. School Travel Planning training is also now available. Training is offered in a modular format so that each community can learn about topics relevant to their current level of experience with active school travel. Contact Kate Berry to learn more.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
